Multiple sources advise effective May 1, 2009, the Federal Government of Mexico has ordered all non-essential government agencies and private businesses to cease operations until May 6 to combat the spread of the H1N1 virus (formerly the swine flu). Specifically, this was announced on April 30 via the Federal Register of the Mexican Government.
Businesses in Mexico will be mostly affected on Monday, May 4 and Tuesday, May 5. May 1st is a national holiday and May 2 and 3 fall on the weekend.
Naturally, this order could be extended by the Mexican Government based on their progress in containing the flu virus.
The Mexican government did advise exceptions to the announced closures:
- businesses and government agencies needed to fight the spread of the H1N1 flu, including hospitals, clinics, pharmacies and other medical services, will remain open;
- essential sectors such as finance, telecommunications and transportation are permitted to continue operations for the public good;
- hotels, supermarkets, gas stations and restaurants that do not have enclosed spaces are also permitted to continue operations.
The announcement also stated federal authorities will ensure the continuous operation of the national transportation system including all highways, roads, ports and airports. This should include Mexican Customs facilities and any private businesses that are involved in the transportation sector such as trucking companies, forwarders and customs brokers.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has advised they are monitoring incoming travelers for signs of sickness, distributing health information and directing persons with symptoms to health care providers in segregated areas at the points of entry to the U.S.
CBP also advised the US-Mexican border is fully operational and CBP has no plans to close at this time. Private sector questions can be directed to private.sector@dhs.gov .
Livingston International continues to monitor the concerns of this situation. As always, your general information, you may e-mail questions to Livingston’s U.S. Regulatory Affairs group at USregaffairs@livingstonintl.com or our Canadian Regulatory Affairs group at RegAffairsCda@livingstonintl.com.