Juarez mayor imposing nightly 10 p.m. curfew to stop virus spread

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico -- The mayor of Juarez announced he is imposing a curfew that will take effect as of 10 p.m. Friday and run for the next 10 days in the hopes of reducing the spread of the coronavirus.

Under Mayor Armando Cabada's order, residents of Juarez are expected to stay home after 10 p.m. each night.

The mayor said in his announcement that authorities will have roadside checkpoints in place to ensure compliance.

The only vehicles allowed on the streets will be those travelling for essential purposes, such as needing medial attention. He said authorities will likely escort you to your destination.

Existing restrictions that closed parks, street markets, bars and entertainment venues will remain in place, the mayor indicated, as will a ban on gatherings.

Cabada's directive comes just a day after announcing that he had tested positive for coronavirus.

Cabada said he had no symptoms, but Javier Corral, the governor of Chihuahua state, said he was self-isolating as a precaution because he had contact with Cabada.

At least three of Mexico’s 31 state governors have already tested positive for coronavirus.

Juarez has been hit hard by the virus, with about two-thirds of the state’s confirmed cases and 104 of its 125 deaths.

While federal authorities had predicted Mexico’s virus caseload would peak sometime around Friday, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Friday that case numbers may plateau for another 12 days before any possible descent.

“We are at the phase of the highest contagion, we are at the peak, and according to the information we are getting, this could continue until the 20th of this month,” López Obrador said. “The projection is that from that date, the number of cases would start to fall.

Mexico has almost 30,000 confirmed cases, though officials have estimated the real number may be eight times higher. The country has seen almost 3,000 deaths.

(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)