The Jalisco Health Secretariat (SSJ) announced that mask-wearing in schools across the state will no longer be mandatory starting Monday, March 9, 2026.
This decision comes after one month of implementation as an additional measure to vaccination efforts aimed at protecting the educational community in the Guadalajara Metropolitan Area (AMG) against a recent measles outbreak. Public health officials say the change reflects high vaccination rates and a reduced risk of transmission.
The state health department clarified that mask use will now be recommended only for individuals who have not yet completed their measles vaccination schedule.
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Héctor Raúl Pérez Gómez, head of the SSJ, stated that the high vaccination coverage within the school community allows for the removal of the mandatory mask requirement.
“As of March 9, 2026, the mandatory use of masks for basic education communities, a measure we implemented 30 days ago for the municipalities of San Pedro Tlaquepaque, Tonalá, Guadalajara, Zapopan, El Salto, Tlajomulco de Zúñiga and Ixtlahuacán de los Membrillos, is no longer mandatory,” he said.
“But, we believe it is advisable at this time to recommend, rather than require, the use of this protective equipment – the mask – to those individuals who have not completed their vaccination schedule against this disease,” Pérez Gómez added.
Officials affirmed that the mandatory mask policy successfully provided protection to students, teachers and school staff in the AMG while vaccination efforts were underway. This measure helped to mitigate the spread of measles during a period of increased vulnerability.
Vaccines remain available for those who have not yet received them at fixed and mobile modules, open seven days a week, and at larger weekend macromodules.
The Benito Juárez Auditorium will host a macromodule vaccination event on March 7, 8, 14, and 15, 2026, from 11:00 a.m. To 5:00 p.m., with no appointment necessary. This provides convenient access to the vaccine outside of school hours.
The official urged parents and guardians to vaccinate their children if they haven’t already, to protect them from a potentially life-threatening illness. “The vaccine is the primary and definitive tool against this disease.”
“There was a very good response from the population, and the Jalisco Health System was able to administer more than one million doses of the biological during this month,” officials reported.
The health authority noted that some groups of children and students still lack a complete vaccination schedule, and are encouraged to get vaccinated as soon as possible.
Vaccination efforts have been significantly intensified in Jalisco, with two million 630 thousand doses of measles vaccine administered in the 125 municipalities of the state between 2025 and March 5, 2026; with just over two million doses administered this year alone.
A small portion of the population remains unvaccinated, and sufficient vaccine supplies are still available at family medicine units of IMSS and ISSSTE, hospitals and health centers of OPD Servicios de Salud Jalisco, as well as various itinerant modules.
Regarding ongoing efforts, the authority added that epidemiological surveillance and evaluation are continuously being conducted.
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