Hi Mexico-loving friends,
I hope this email finds you well.
There are more changes in a positive direction with regards to covid restrictions here in Mexico. Vaccines continue to roll out for people 50 years of age and older at the moment with talk of 40+ happening the next month or so. This has meant a huge reduction in case numbers in most states and the federal government has begun reducing restrictions accordingly.
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.
Red means the highest risk of covid and that hospitals are near capacity. It has been interpreted in most states at total lockdown. This past Monday began the 12th straight week with no states in the red here in Mexico.
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, but for the most part, hotels, restaurants, and shops are allowed to be open with about 30% capacity (again this depends on the state's interpretation). The only state currently in orange is Quintana Roo (home to Cancun, Playa del Carmen, and Tulum).
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. The states currently in yellow are Baja California, Zacatecas, Colima, Michoacán, Puebla, Tamaulipas, México state, Yucatán, Baja California Sur, Mexico City, Nuevo León, Nayarit, Campeche, Tabasco, and Chihuahua.
More than half of the country's states have gone green this week, a huge step for getting kids back to school this coming September. 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. The states that are currently green in Mexico include: Chiapas, Coahuila, Veracruz, Jalisco (home to Puerto Vallarta and Guadalajara), Guanajuato, Sonora, Sinaloa, Durango, San Luis Potosí, Oaxaca, Tlaxcala, Aguascalientes, Querétaro, Hidalgo, Guerrero, and Morelos.
You can read more about these changes in this article.
Updates from Baja California Sur
Luke and I have been on the road exploring Baja California Sur for the last two weeks and it has been so much fun. We started in La Ventana, made our way 6 hours up the road to Loreto, spent the night on a sailboat in Bahía Concepción, and then hiked to ancient cave paintings in Mulegé. I can't wait to share it all with you guys!
We just got back to San Jose del Cabo and I'm now sifting through all of the videos, photos, and information we collected along the way to start putting together videos and blog posts to share these incredible places with you.
The first video of the series went live this past Sunday and can be watched here if you haven't already seen it.
I've been recounting all of our travels on Instagram stories and over on my Facebook page if you want to see some photos and get some recommendations before the videos and blog posts are all ready.
Keep up with what's happening in other parts of Mexico
As things continue to change so quickly and the interpretation of the traffic light system changes state-by-state, the best way to know what's going on in the place you want to visit is to find people who are on the ground there now.
Mexico City is reopening for business in so many ways. Museums are open around the city, restaurants continue with outdoor dining options and delivery, but indoor dining has returned. For more updates about Mexico City, as always I recommend following Ubish Yaren on Instagram. He is doing regular weekly updates about the situation there both on his Instagram and on his YouTube channel. My friend Todd Hata also shares his experiences in Mexico City (among other areas in the country) on his Instagram Todd's Mexico.
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 the state as she begins exploring a little bit along the coast.
For regular updates about life in Merida and around the Yucatan, check out Mexico Cassie. 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 Queretaro, follow Alex of the Backpacking Brunette.
Trisha of P.S. I'm on My Way regularly shares updates about life in Nayarit where she balances time between Nueva Vallarta where she lives and Sayulita where she works. Vallarta Daily is the local English news there where you can learn about any changes in the situation.
Claire's Itchy Feet is a great page to follow for updates about life in both Nayarit and Playa del Carmen where she splits her time. Riviera Maya News is the local English newspaper there where you can keep up with changes.
For updates about Acapulco, follow Raphael of Journey of Wonders.
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 to help you plan your trip!
I also have three extensive guidebooks available for Mexico City (updated this year with tons of new content!), Merida, and Guanajuato!
As always, you can find me most often on Instagram with daily updates and photos, but I also post very regularly on Facebook if you prefer following along there.
If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to email me by simply hitting reply on this email.
Speak soon,
Laura
