In case of a new outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in Mexico, which is the main risk for the economy, productive activities would not completely cease again, Minister of Finance Arturo Herrera said on Wednesday.

During the National Meeting of Regional Directors of the Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) Financial Group, Herrera said that Mexico's gross domestic product (GDP) may have fallen up to 8.2 percent in the third quarter.

"I believe that today, in these unusual circumstances, the most important thing for the economy is to keep the pandemic under control," Herrera explained, adding that if the right precautions are taken, the risk of another outbreak can be avoided.

Mexican health authorities warned on Monday that they had detected "early signs of an outbreak" of COVID-19 after eight of the 32 Mexican states showed an upward trend in their contagion curves.

Since June 1, Mexico has gradually begun to reactivate some sectors of the economy that had been closed since the end of March to prevent the spread of the virus.