Hi Mexico-loving friends! This week on Mexico's Coronavirus stoplight system every single state goes green. Many states are easing mask restrictions and things are beginning to resume almost completely as normal.

Hi Mexico-loving friends! This week on Mexico's Coronavirus stoplight system every single state goes green. Many states are easing mask restrictions and things are beginning to resume almost completely as normal.

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. 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). For the next two weeks, there will be no states in the red. 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 has given control 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. There are currently no states in the orange.  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. There are currently no states in the yellow.  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 being taken, especially when going indoors. There are now four states currently in the green. Every single state is now green. You can view the full map on the government website here. This means that most of the states will have all tourist sites, museums, beaches, boardwalks, and restaurants back open with precautions still being taken. As of this month, the health declaration form that you used to have to fill out when traveling around Mexico will no longer be required.

Latest Mexico Content

I recently hired a few Mexico-based writers to help me keep up to date with all of the best things to see, do and eat around Mexico. Together we have been writing up a storm in March! Here are the blog posts that went live in March over on Eternal Expat. 9 Best Oaxaca Beach Towns  Best Breakfast Spots in Playa del Carmen 19 Amazing Vacation Spots in Mexico Mexico's Magic Towns - What to know about Pueblos Magicos! 27 Best Tacos in Mexico City

Are You Thinking About Moving to Baja California Sur?

Have places like Cabo San Lucas, La Paz, Todos Santos, or San Jose del Cabo been on your list of places to check out for a move to Mexico? Maybe you love the state but you aren't sure which town or city would be best for you? Maybe you are simply Mex-curious and want to learn all about the best places to live in Mexico? Some of you may know that I lived in Baja California Sur for several months last year and then spent several more months traveling around and exploring all the way up the coast to Mulege.  I've written extensively about it both on my blog and in my guidebook as well as posted tons of videos about it on my YouTube channel. If Luke's job wasn't location-dependent, we might still be there now. This Sunday, March 27th, I'm going to be joining my friend Alex of Backpacking Brunette for a fun mixer where I'll be talking all about the different places to live around Baja California Sur and what each has to offer. I'll also be answering questions you may have about this amazing place! This is a live event and you must be registered with Alex's membership, which you can do here.  Each month, Alex hosts experts from around Mexico so you won't want to miss out on seeing who's up next in April! Being part of Alex's membership also means you get access to her and her exclusive monthly Q&A sessions. Learn more about the membership events and register for it here.

Expats & Locals Around Mexico

As always with Mexico, I highly recommend seeking out people who are currently living in the places that you want to visit. With Covid rules changing constantly and safety issues cropping up every now and again, only people who are on the ground there living it every day can share with you what's really happening. 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 information about what's going on in and around Puerto Vallarta, be sure to follow along with the Kinetic Kennons on YouTube. 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. Trisha of PS I'm On My Way currently lives in Cabo San Lucas and can share some insights into what is happening there with you. Check out her website here. 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. 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. I believe this is the region that is changing the most in regards to safety at the minute and if you plan to independently travel here (renting a car and exploring without tours or away from resorts), then I highly recommend speaking to someone who is there right now. 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 Mexico guides 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 in late-2021 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