Open Air City will be permanent at CDMX, under these conditions

The Mexico City government has announced that the “Open Air City” program will remain in the capital, despite the overcoming of the COVID pandemic, due to the good results obtained.

“Ciudad al Aire Libre” is aimed at places selling prepared foods, in order to provide service in the open air.

And the capital’s authorities announced in a video press conference the conditions that must be met in the new phase of the program.

Companies interested in adopting this system must register as of Friday 7 May on the page siapem.cdmx.gob.mx.

Which consists?

Companies that register will be able to place removable equipment on public roads and permanently install structures necessary to provide the service. For example: light awnings on sidewalks or platforms, fixed barriers or protection signs in the case of belongings in the parking lot over a motorway.

For their part, establishments must ensure that the customer is protected with physical barriers and signage, and on sidewalks, they must leave free space for a pedestrian walkway with a width of at least one meter

Those companies that are located in places where there is a parking lot, will be able to use that space to put their belongings. The Metropolitan Government has made it clear that Simovi personnel will be the ones to determine and authorize the use of these vehicle spaces.

Measures within companies

Once installed, companies must comply with certain measures in order to provide the service.

• Outdoor tables may not be larger than 75% of the tables available inside the store.
• You will not be able to smoke inside, and outside companies must allocate a special place for people who want to do so.
• Tables should be placed at a distance of 1.5 meters between each one and be of design and color with colors adapted to those of the business and urban image of the colony, town or neighbourhood.
• In the case of the Historic Center, the colors may be: navy blue, forest green, brown, terracotta, and wine, as indicated in the Citizen’s Guide to Historic Center Care.
• In historical or adjacent monuments, institutions must obtain a license from the National Institute of Statistics.

New measures for businesses

On the other hand, the CDMX government reports that hospital admissions for COVID in the capital continue to decline, so the orange traffic light continues towards yellow.

In light of this, new procedures were announced for companies that resumed their activities several weeks ago.

In the case of commercial establishments, closing hours will be extended until 8:00 pm, and they will be able to operate at 30%.

That is, except for department stores and supermarkets that can operate 24 hours a day.

While hotels will expand their capacity to 60% and restaurants will be able to serve until 11:00 pm outside and 10:00 pm indoors.

As of Friday, at CDMX, 1,681 people have been hospitalized with COVID, of whom 1,119 are in the general hospital and 362 have been intubated.

The hospital occupancy rate is 19.96%, which is the first time it has fallen below 20% since the recovery began in 2020.