Governor denies plans for new alcohol ban

The governor attempted to ease anxieties and quell rumors as new cases reached 269 in a single day.

In Mérida, hospital capacity is at 51%, and at 19% in the state’s interior, said Gov. Mauricio Vila Dosal. He also noted that while cases are higher than in May, daily cases aren’t spiking as before. The overflow ward set up at the Siglo XXI convention center is empty, he said.

Before vaccinations, most hospital patients battling coronavirus were elderly. Now, the majority is between 30 and 50 years of age — a group not yet fully reached by the vaccination campaign. Residents in their 40s only recently were invited to receive inoculations.

He also denied that the state was planning a return to an alcohol ban, and urged citizens to be skeptical of social media rumors stating otherwise. Panic shopping at local liquor store was widely reported in local media.

Health authorities will announce today whether Yucatán will return from a yellow to orange-level alert. Already, the state has brought back the road curfew, closed bars and reduced restaurant capacity.

Yucatán is one of six states leading Mexico’s increase in new coronavirus cases.

New infections had spiked 8% after weeks of declines, said Deputy Health Minister Hugo López-Gatell, pointing to surging infections in Yucatán, Quintana Roo, Baja California Sur, Campeche, Sinaloa and Veracruz.

Nearly 3,000 active COVID cases were counted in Yucatán and Quintana Roo. Only Mexico City and Tabasco have more, said López-Gatell, who blamed tourism. Yucatán alone has counted 43,710 cases and 4,362 deaths since the pandemic arrived in March 2020.

Mexico doesn’t require arriving travelers to provide test results to prove they aren’t shedding coronavirus.

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