page_title: COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico
section_title: January to March
hierarchical_section_title: COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico / Timeline of the government response / January to March
caption_attribution_description: English: Sábado 14 de marzo de 2020Como parte de las actividades de Tiempo de Mujeres. Festival por la Igualdad, se realizó en el Estadio Olímpico México 68 de Ciudad Universitaria, el primer partido de la Liga Femenil MX entre los equipos Pumas de la UNAM y Cruz Azul. Durante el acceso del público al estadio, personal de la Secretaría de Cultura de la Ciudad de México, encabezados por su titular, José Alfonso Suárez del Real y Aguilera, se dieron a la tarea de suministrar gel antibacterial.Fotografía: Milton Martínez / Secretaría de Cultura de la Ciudad de México Español: Sábado 14 de marzo de 2020. Como parte de las actividades de "Tiempo de Mujeres. Festival por la Igualdad", se realizó en el Estadio Olímpico México 68 de Ciudad Universitaria, el primer partido de la Liga Femenil MX entre los equipos Pumas de la UNAM y Cruz Azul. Durante el acceso del público al estadio, personal de la Secretaría de Cultura de la Ciudad de México, encabezados por su titular, José Alfonso Suárez del Real y Aguilera, se dieron a la tarea de suministrar gel antibacterial. Fotografía: Milton Martínez / Secretaría de Cultura de la Ciudad de México.
context_page_description: The COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The virus was confirmed to have reached Mexico in February 2020. However, the National Council of Science and Technology reported two cases of COVID-19 in mid-January 2020 in the states of Nayarit and Tabasco, one case per state. As of August 30, there had been 595,841 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Mexico and 64,158 reported deaths, although the Secretariat of Health, through the "Programa Centinela" estimated in mid July 2020 that there were more than 2,875,734 cases in Mexico, because they were considering the total number of cases confirmed as a statistical sample.
context_section_description: January 9, 2020 – A travel advisory for people traveling to or from China was issued.
  January 22 – The Secretariat of Health issued a statement saying that the novel coronavirus COVID-19 did not present a danger to Mexico.
  January 30 – The Government of Mexico designed a Preparation and Response Plan that was made by the National Committee for Health Safety, a working group led by Secretariat of Health composed by different health entities aiming to act upon the imminent arrival of the pandemic. This group carried out a series of alert measures, rehabilitation and updating of epidemiological regulations based on the International Health Regulations.
  March 5 – The National Governors' Conference (Conago) met to discuss the coronavirus outbreak. The directors of INSABI, IMSS and ISSSTE also participated.
  March 6 – Hugo López-Gatell Ramírez led the first daily press conference on COVID-19.
  March 10 – As the stock market and the price of oil fell, "Banxico" stepped in to prop up the value of the peso, which had fallen 14%.
  March 13 – The National Autonomous University of Mexico suspended in-person classes. Authorities canceled or postponed major tourist events in Guadalajara and Merida.
  March 14
  The SEP announced that all sporting and civic events in schools would be canceled and that Easter break, originally planned from April 6 to 17, would be extended from March 20 to April 20. On March 31 the school closings were extended through April 30.
  The SCHP announced it was taking measures to prevent a 0.5% fall in GDP.
  The "Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León" (UANL) suspended classes for its more than 206,000 students starting on March 17.
  March 15 – Mexico City mayor Claudia Sheinbaum declared that Mexico City expected to spend an extra MXN $100 million to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
  March 18 – Authorities announced that they were looking for hundreds of citizens who might be carriers of the coronavirus, especially in the states of Puebla, Jalisco, Aguascalientes and Guerrero. The Autonomous University of Guerrero (UAGRO) in Chilpancingo closed after a female student tested positive for the virus.
  March 22
  Bars, nightclubs, movie theaters and museums were closed in Mexico City.
  Governor Alfaro Ramírez announces that Jalisco and seven other states would block flights from areas such as that had a high rate of coronavirus. He also said that they would purchase 25,000 testing kits.
  Governor Jaime Rodríguez Calderón of Nuevo León said he will not rule out the use of force to get people to stay at home.
  March 23
  The WHO announced that Mexico had entered into the community contact phase of infection.
  The National Campaign of Healthy Distancing, a national program of non-pharmaceutical measures based on social distancing, began. A media campaign led by "Susana Distancia", who is a fictional female superhero aiming to promote social distancing, was launched. "Susana Distancia" is a wordplay on 'su sana distancia', meaning "his/her healthy distance".
  Access to supermarkets, drugstores and convenience stores in Coahuila was limited to one person per family, and the temperature of that person was taken before entering.
  March 24 – President López Obrador announced that Mexico had entered Phase 2 of the coronavirus pandemic, in effect until April 30. Gatherings of more than 100 people were prohibited, and both the Mexican Army and the Mexican Navy would participate.
  March 25
  President López Obrador ordered the Mexican Air Force to rescue Mexicans trapped in Argentina.
  Office of the Federal Prosecutor for the Consumer (Profeco) closed two businesses in Tijuana, Baja California, for price-gouging.
  In Mexico City, Claudia Sheinbaum announced financial support for families and micro industries affected by the pandemic, and she suspended automobile smog checks through April 19. She closed movie theaters, bars, nightclubs, gyms and other entertainment centers.
  The government announced that it would continue receiving cruise ships "for humanitarian reasons", but that passengers would be individually "fumigated" before being taken directly to ai
caption: On March 14, 2020, sport events such as female football matches were open to the public. At Estadio Olímpico Universitario, authorities were pouring hand sanitizer at the entrance.
exif: {"Image PhotometricInterpretation": "2", "Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon EOS 7D Mark II", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "300", "Image YResolution": "300", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop CS5.1 Macintosh", "Image DateTime": "2020:03:14 18:27:13", "Image Artist": "MILTON MARTINEZ", "Image WhitePoint": "313/1000", "Image PrimaryChromaticities": "16/25", "Image Copyright": "MILTON MARTINEZ", "Image ExifOffset": "374", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/160", "EXIF FNumber": "71/10", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Manual", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "200", "EXIF SensitivityType": "Recommended Exposure Index", "EXIF RecommendedExposureIndex": "200", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0230", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2020:03:14 12:04:14", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2020:03:14 12:04:14", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "59/8", "EXIF ApertureValue": "45/8", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "4", "EXIF SubjectDistance": "15/4", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash fired, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "24", "EXIF SubSecTime": "00", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "00", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "00", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "3300", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "2200", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "231297/38", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "121803/20", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Manual Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF BodySerialNumber": "202053000397", "EXIF LensSpecification": "[24, 105, 0, 0]", "EXIF LensModel": "EF24-105mm f/4L IS II USM", "EXIF LensSerialNumber": "7930002829", "EXIF Gamma": "11/5"}