MEXICO CITY (AP) 鈥� Mexico will double security and limit capacity at the monument known as the 鈥淎ngel of Independence鈥� and at the fan festival in Mexico City鈥檚 main square for Sunday’s Mexico-England match after following Mexico鈥檚 win over Ecuador earlier this week.
Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada on Friday announced the measures as she presented the pre- and post-match security plan following the deaths of four fans from asphyxiation and cardiac arrest.
As a World Cup host city and with the team Mexican fans have poured into the streets to watch the games and celebrate their wins after being priced out of the stadiums by the Mexican authorities have and that they took all the safety precautions to host after a February attack in Guadalajara following the death of a cartel boss raised concerns.
The decision to reinforce security comes after two women, ages 19 and 44, and a 48-year-old man died of asphyxiation on June 30 in the streets near the central Paseo de la Reforma. Emergency services also treated a 25-year-old man for epilepsy, a seizure and gastrointestinal bleeding. The man died shortly afterward in the hospital from cardiorespiratory arrest.
The Mexico City Attorney General鈥檚 Office opened an investigation into the four deaths, which is still ongoing.
Brugada told the press that there will be free entry to the Monument to Independence, popularly known as the 鈥淎ngel,鈥� and the Z贸calo on Sunday, but with limited capacity for everyone鈥檚 safety.
Mexico City鈥檚 Secretary of Public Security, Pablo V谩zquez, announced that only 25,000 people will be allowed access to the Angel monument, a popular spot for fans to celebrate team victories. Once that limit is reached, fans will be directed to other locations along the Paseo de la Reforma, where multiple screens will be set up to watch the game and the celebrations.
A similar procedure will be followed at the Z贸calo, the city鈥檚 main square, where access will also be closed once capacity is reached. Visitors will then be asked to go to one of the more than 50 designated viewing areas throughout Mexico City to watch the game.
Security will be reinforced along Paseo de la Reforma with 6,000 officers, double the number deployed on June 30, V谩zquez explained. There will be 7,500 police officers around Azteca Stadium, while 3,300 will be deployed in the Z贸calo.
V谩zquez explained that a security perimeter will be established in the areas near the Angel of Independence to control the flow of people. Street vendors and delivery drivers will not be allowed. Strategic closures of the metro and Metrobus lines near Paseo de la Reforma will also be implemented.
Mexico City鈥檚 Secretary of Government, C茅sar Cravioto, announced that from the early morning of July 5 until the following day, the sale of alcoholic beverages will be prohibited on the streets of the city center. Consumption will only be permitted in banquet halls, restaurants, hotels, private clubs, movie theaters, theaters and auditoriums.
The city鈥檚 Secretary of Civil Protection, Myriam Urz煤a, urged fans to avoid the crowd games that have become popular, including 鈥淲ant to Fly!,鈥� where people are thrown into the air and caught by the crowd, and 鈥淪hall We Swim!,鈥� where the crowd advances in unison to the song popularized by the character Dory in the Disney movie 鈥淔inding Nemo.鈥�
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