Hi Mexico-loving friends,
I hope this email finds you well.
There have been a lot of changes on the covid traffic light system here in Mexico. Here's what you need to know as you plan your trip or move to Mexico in the coming weeks.
Last week, Mexico registered the highest number of covid cases since the pandemic began with over 28,000 new cases. While the vaccine continues to be rolled out, the "third wave" rolls through the country alongside hurricanes.
Meanwhile, the first cruise ship from California to Mexico since before the pandemic has set sail.
Traffic Light Changes
For those that are new around here, last year Mexico's federal government created a traffic light system to help businesses and people understand the risks of Covid-19 in each state around Mexico. It was then up to the state governments to decide how to interpret these traffic light colors.
There have been some very big changes around the country which will mean further restrictions and in some places, near-complete lockdown.
Currently, red means the highest risk of covid and that hospitals are near capacity. It means that capacity at restaurants and hotels is lowered. In some places, it will mean that you will not be able to sit inside a restaurant at all, but only place an order for take-out (unless they have outdoor seating available). Seven states are in the red and will remain this way until September 5th. Those states in the red are Nuevo León, Tamaulipas, Colima, Guerrero, Puebla, Hidalgo, and Tabasco
Orange is a level below red status and means that there is still a high risk of covid-19 and many restrictions are still in place. The federal government have given control over to the state governments to decide how they implement these colors and what restrictions should be in place. These are the states that will remain in orange with a risk of possibly moving into the red because of continued increases in severe cases and hospitals becoming overrun: Mexico City, Mexico State, Sonora, Durango, Zacatecas, Nayarit, Jalisco, Aguascalientes, San Luis Potosí, Michoacán, Querétaro, Tlaxcala, Veracruz, Oaxaca, Morelos, Campeche, and Quintana Roo.
Yellow means lower risk level and most places are allowed to have up to 50% capacity. States in yellow are allowed to have fans at sporting events and bars are allowed to be open (in some states clubs are also open in Yellow). Museums and other tourist attractions can be back open with restrictions. All of the states currently in yellow include Baja California, Baja California Sur, Sinaloa, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Guanajuato, and Yucatán.
Green means that there is a very low risk of Covid, that many places can have more than 75% capacity and almost all services can resume. Precautions like masks and temperature checks are still taken, especially indoors. There is only one state currently in the green. The state that is currently green in Mexico is Chiapas.
While the state of Nuevo Leon moves into the red this week, the incumbent governor has taken things into his own hands. Last week, he organized for 800 people to be bussed to the US border where they traveled into Loredo Texas to receive their vaccinations. After Mexico City and Mexico State, Nuevo Leon has had some of the highest covid cases since the start of the pandemic and yet they have received far fewer vaccinations than other states.
The deputy health minister spoke last week saying that he believes we will begin to see the effect of the vaccination rollout in the coming weeks. He is confident that the third wave will begin to calm in September as more and more people receive the second dose of the vaccine.
You can read more about the nation's traffic light changes in this article.
Latest Mexico Content
I have also been busy catching up on Baja and more general Mexico content on my blog. Here are the latest posts that I've written in the last few weeks:
Keep up with what's happening in other parts of Mexico
The traffic light is changing rapidly again and the way in which each state and municipality is interpreting the traffic light system varies enormously. What is now orange in Mexico City looks more like green in Jalisco. Yellow in Puerto Vallarta looks very different from Yellow in Guadalajara, even though they're in the same state.
I highly recommend seeking out people who are currently located within the town or city in Mexico that you want to visit. Here are some of the people that I recommend following:
For updates about Mexico City, as always I recommend following Ubish Yaren on Instagram. You can also follow Anais of The Curious Mexican for updates on the restaurant and food scene in Mexico City and what is back open.
For updates about what's going on in Oaxaca, Susan of Brooklyn Tropicali has been sharing her updates of what's going on around the city and state of Oaxaca as more things open up there.
For regular updates about life in Merida and around the Yucatan, check out Mexico Cassie who has also recently written a fantastic guide about Traveling Yucatan with Kids. She also just wrote about her experience in Cancun, which is still very much welcoming tourists.
Shelley of Travel Mexico Solo also shares her experiences in Merida and around the Yucatan. Her Instagram is a particularly good resource for what she's seeing at the moment.
The Yucatan Times is the local English newspaper in Merida that shares local updates and news reports.
To keep up with what's going on in and around Querétaro, follow Alex of the Backpacking Brunette.
Vallarta Daily is the local English news there where you can learn about any changes in the situation in Puerto Vallarta and the surrounding Nayarit beach towns as well.
Janine Around the World is traveling around the Riviera Maya at the moment sharing her experiences on her blog and Instagram.
Riviera Maya News is the local English newspaper there where you can keep up with changes.
The Mexican government's Coronavirus website is a huge resource for those that are currently living in Mexico and want to know more about what's happening in their state.
As always, a great place to keep up to date with news about what's happening all over Mexico in English is Mexico News Daily.
Visiting Mexico Soon?
If you are planning a trip to Mexico soon, I hope you'll have a browse of the different locations on my blog or have a search through my YouTube videos to help you plan your trip!
I also have FOUR extensive guidebooks available for Baja California Sur (brand new and published in July 2021!), Mexico City (updated this year with tons of new content!), Merida, and Guanajuato!
If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to email me by simply hitting reply on this email.
Speak soon and safe travels,
Laura
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