In neighboring Sonora, some businesses may start asking patrons for proof of vaccination, or a recent negative test.

That plan stems from a request from several Sonoran business groups, and was recently given the green light from the state’s health counsel.

“The purpose of this joint strategy is to motivate people to get vaccinated,” said Manuel Lira Valenzuela, head of the Sonoran branch of Canirac, which represents restaurants and was one of the groups that made the request. “Those people who have had the chance to get vaccinated, but who haven’t for different reasons.”

The measures will likely start soon at casinos, and will later spread to other businesses like restaurants, gyms and theaters, according to Valenzuela.

He said the business groups proposed the measure in exchange for being allowed to continue operating when, as seems likely soon, Hermosillo and other places go to maximum risk on the state’s coronavirus scale.

Some, like the Hermosillo Merchants Union, expressed concern that such requirements could make an already challenging situation more difficult for some businesses.