After 2 Weeks In The Green, Sonora’s COVID-19 Risk Rises To Medium
Sonora, Arizona’s neighbor to the south, spent just two weeks at green, or low-risk, according to the federal government’s pandemic risk measure.
But now it’s back to yellow, or moderate risk, according to a presentation of the latest version of the federal semaforo — or traffic light — scale from the health ministry’s Hugo Lopez Gatell.
“There’s no need to get discouraged,” he said. “If efforts continue in Sonora, it’s possible that it will return to green.”
Other states have experienced the same, only to regain green status by sticking with pandemic protocols, he noted.
State health authorities are worried about the possibility of a third wave in Sonora, brought on by travel during Holy Week, which just got underway. New confirmed daily cases have been ticking up in recent days, as has hospital bed utilization, though deaths remain flat, according to data maintained by the University of Sonora.
Recent excess death data shows that nearly 11,000 more deaths than were expected occurred in the state through mid-February, roughly twice as many officially confirmed Covid-19 deaths at the time, according to federal data and state data tracked by Luis Armando Moreno.
