A bill permitting same-sex couples and single people to adopt children has been presented in the Jalisco Congress.

Reforms prohibiting the physical punishment of children in the state of Jalisco entered into law this week after their publication in the Periódico Oficial del Estado (official state newspaper).

The Jalisco State Congress has approved the new Law on Protection Against Exposure to Tobacco Smoke, which comes into force on December 18.

Jalisco Governor Enrique Alfaro and Hugo López-Gatell, the federal government’s chief coronavirus spokesperson, haven’t always seen eye to eye during the course of the pandemic, but they now agree on one thing: Jalisco appears to be on a downward trend in new Covid-19 infections and hospitalizations.

Jalisco government health officials believe the state is on the cusp of moving from the high risk category (orange on the epidemic traffic light monitoring system) to medium risk (yellow).

Federal funds allocated for Jalisco in 2021 will shrink by 4.6 percent, a move that represents “a harsh blow” for this state, Governor Enrique Alfaro said.