Back to orange: Another setback for Cancun-Riviera Maya as coronavirus spreads
ByYucatán Magazine
Quintana Roo Gov. Carlos Joaquín González.Photo: Courtesy
Following news that U.S. travelers are beginning to think twice about Mexico, the state government has responded to startling coronavirus data and added back restrictions on hotel and restaurant occupancy.
Quintana Roo Gov. Carlos Joaquín González said the entire Cancun-Riviera Maya region — the state’s north — will regress to the orange light, one step below the top-level red-alert lockdown.
The region was previously in the far-less restrictive yellow alert, which allowed businesses to operate at 60% capacity. The Jan. 25-31 rollback brings that down to 30%.
As tourists and social-media influencers flock to Mexico’s Caribbean coast for winter travel, infections have rebounded in the last two weeks.
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTERDelivered to your inbox every Monday, completely free.
“If we do not take sanitary measures seriously, we can lose, in a very short time, what we have managed to gain in recent months,” said Joaquín González.
Not all the action is north of Centro. In Mérida’s rapidly expanding western edge, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum delivered scholarships and inspected the construction of a new technical high school in Ciudad Caucel. During the visit to CBTIS 305, Sheinbaum distributed Benito Juárez Universal Scholarship money to students who will receive 1,900 pesos (approximately US$105)…
La Casa del Pueblo (The People’s House) is one of the most striking examples of Mayan Revival architecture in the capital of Yucatán; however, it is significantly less well-known or visited than El Monumento a la Patria or Parque de las Américas. La Casa del Pueblo began operating in 1916 as the headquarters for Yucatán’s…
Every morning before dawn breaks over Mérida, bakers across Yucatán fire up their ovens. By the time most people grab their first coffee, fresh conchas, cuernitos and bolillos fill the shelves at neighborhood panaderías. On July 11 — Día del Panadero — the Peninsula takes a moment to honor these early risers who keep one of Mexico’s most…
Young painters from Casa Otoch will showcase their artwork at an annual exhibition on Nov. 18 at Hennessy’s Irish Pub on Paseo de Montejo. The event allows student artists to see their work displayed and meet the people who buy it. The Cool Cats art show starts at 7 p.m. and features paintings, greeting cards,…
An international film production is coming to Yucatán, and local residents have a chance to be part of it. The colonial-era project begins filming Nov. 6 and wraps Dec. 14. Crews will shoot in Mérida and several other municipalities across the state, including locations along the Paseo de Montejo, in the historic center, and at…
Yucatecan hammock weavers, traditional cooks, and Maya musicians transformed Mexico’s former presidential residence into a vibrant showcase of Peninsula culture. The “Yucatán en Los Pinos” festival brings the rich traditions of the Maya Renaissance, highlighting the shared cultural threads that bind communities across the Peninsula. Governor Joaquín Díaz Mena inaugurated the two-day festival at the…
