Mexico City’s government has said shops in the centre of the capital and other busy areas would temporarily have to close at 5pm to reduce the risk of coronavirus infection as authorities battle a surge in cases.

Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum says the city is now in a state of “emergency” but like President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, she has opted not to impose binding restrictions, instead urging residents to stay at home and reduce their socialising.

Mexico City and its metropolitan area is the epicentre of the pandemic in Mexico, and new infections of coronavirus have reached record levels in recent weeks, with the government forecasting things will continue to get worse until January.