On December 21, 2021, Quintana Roo reported zero new COVID cases. Since then, the Mexican state home to popular vacation destinations Cancun and Riviera Maya has seen cases steadily climb. So much so that it broke records in recent days. From January 2-15, the state in Mexico has seen over 9,500 cases reported and a 7-day average of 820. This number was nearly triple the 7-day average on Jan 1. Saturday alone reported 1,822 cases, the third day to break 1,000 cases out of four. Despite this recent spike, the state committed to staying in the yellow.
Mexico Remaining Yellow for Vacations
Governor Carlos Joaquín said that despite the record-breaking cases over the last two days, hospital capacity remains stable at 14%. Joaquín explained that while the state of Quintana Roo and its tourism hotspots were close to moving to the ‘Orange’ alert level, it was not necessary at this time.
“We have to learn to live with it and not think about closing the economy again. We can’t go back home and repeat what happened to us in 2020.” He continued, “We confined ourselves, closed the economy, and jobs were lost,” explained Joaquín in an official press release from the Quintana Roo government. Joaquin reminded people in that statement how important the restrictions were to allow them to stay open for business. “For this reason, the maximum capacity in closed spaces must be respected in order to generate less risk of contagion for the population.”
Vacation Status
The governor will continue to adjust the alert level weekly to ensure the state stays in front of any outbreaks. Mexico has adopted a traffic light system with four levels. Green is for normal duties and activities. Yellow (current status) is for reduced activities. Orange asks that you please stay home. Red is for essential duties only. Tourism is now labeled essential for the Mexican government. This means that hotels and resorts remain open even if capacities and closures happen.
