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Coronavirus
A quiet beach in Oaxaca, closed by coronavirus.Just hours after mayors in the coastal region of Oaxaca announced strict new health measures, other government officials appeared to walk back on the restrictions.
Last Friday, mayors from a number of Oaxaca communities agreed to close beaches and suspend all tourist activities, hoping to slow the wave of coronavirus infections currently hitting the area. They also prohibited the sale of alcohol, banned large group gatherings and limited hotels and restaurants to operating at 35% capacity. The mayors represented the communities of Pochutla, Tonameca, Huatulco, Colotepec, San Miguel del Puerto, Pluma Hidalgo and Tututepec.
But some state and municipal authorities were not happy with the restrictions. After the announcement, they faced push-back from the state tourism board and the Huatulco municipal council announced that beaches would not, in fact, be completely closed. Rather, they would be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., while nightclubs and bars would be shuttered. Hotels and restaurants serving tourists would be limited to 30% capacity.
The state government confirmed there would not be a total closure of the beaches, telling the newspaper El Universal that while it respected the decision of municipal authorities, Friday’s announcement by the mayors had been misinterpreted.
The beaches where access will be limited include those in Puerto Escondido, Zipolite, Puerto Ángel and Salina Cruz, where visitors will be allowed at 35% capacity, and use of face masks will be mandatory. In some areas, mayors have approved fines and even jail time for those found not using face masks in public.
Furthermore, a minivan service between Puerto Escondido and Pochutla will be halted after the region entered the red (maximum alert) rating on the coronavirus risk map on Monday.
According to Oaxaca Health Services, the coast region has 4,021 confirmed Covid cases and 345 people have died since the pandemic began.
With reports from Milenio and El Universal
What's Happening in Mexico Right Now?
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Hi Mexico-loving friends,
I hope this email finds you well.
Things continue to decline when it comes to covid numbers across Mexico. Seven states are now in the highest risk level on the traffic light system. Fifteen states have moved into the second-highest "orange" risk level this week and only one state remains in the safe "green" rating.
The government is hopeful that this will be a warning to people to stay home in the coming weeks so that by September, schools, businesses, and tourism can begin to resume again in a more normal way.
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 August 22nd. Those states in the red are Mexico City, Colima, Guerrero, Jalisco, Nuevo León, Sinaloa, and Nayarit.
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: Baja California Sur, Sonora, Tlaxcala, Tamaulipas, San Luis Potosí, Zacatecas, Durango, Michoacán, Querétaro, State of México, Hidalgo, Veracruz, Puebla, Oaxaca 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, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Aguascalientes, Guanajuato, Morelos, Yucatán, Campeche, and Tabasco.
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.
Some places, like Mexico City, are refusing to accept the news that they are in red. You may not be able to notice any changes in regulations here, but be aware that case numbers are hugely on the rise and take precautions if you are visiting the city.
The country is pushing hard to continue rolling out the vaccine across the country, but it is still a slow process and there are still many people at risk of hospitalization.
These rankings will remain in place until August 22nd, 2021. They will, as has been the case for several months, be assessed every two weeks. However, as I mentioned above, the government is overhauling the system. So I believe we will see some big changes to what these colors mean in the next few weeks.
You can read more about the nation's traffic light changes in this article.
My Baja California Sur guidebook has officially become the most popular and widely sold book that I have ever released and it's all because of you. Many of you have taken the time to leave a review on Amazon or share the link with friends who are planning trips and for that I am so, so grateful.
If you haven't received my emails recently or seen on social media, the book came out on July 1st and is available as a pdf download here or a paperback copy on Amazon here.
If you've already purchased the guidebook THANK YOU. I am beyond grateful to all of you for your support, comments, emails, kind words, and feedback over the course of researching and writing this guidebook.
If you have purchased the book and enjoy what you've read so far, it would mean the world to me if you took a few moments to write an Amazon review here. Send me a screenshot of the review and I'll send you a 20% discount code for any of the other digital copies of the guidebook!
I have also recently created a new monthly newsletter where I will be sharing more personal stories of our travels and expat adventures. We have just started a very new and exciting adventure that I'll be sharing via those newsletters since they are not Mexico-focused. For those that are interested in joining that newsletter, please simply click here and you will be added to that list! (you don't need to fill out the form unless you want to be EXTRA sure you're on the list or you would prefer to use a different email address to the current one you are using).
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 red in Mexico City looks more like yellow 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.
For updates about Acapulco, follow Raphael of Journey of Wonders.
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.
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, 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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Es solo una pequeña pausa y muy pronto estaremos con ustedes para más momentos de diversión siguiendo todas las medidas que indican las autoridades de salud!!! Te esperamos 
