Coronavirus fatalities in Yucatán have been no more than one each day for more than a week, state health department data indicates.
Despite an onslaught of tourists into Mérida and some beach communities, daily infections also dropped. An average of 11 new infections were detected every 24 hours, compared to 20.8 the previous week.
Hospitalizations were also down slightly, to 29, and quarantine cases dropped by 16% to reach 162. These are the lowest numbers of cases, deaths and hospitalizations since the pandemic first began to rage in Yucatán in spring 2020.
In other parts of the world — including countries that send tourists to the Yucatán Peninsula — the new variant is causing businesses and governments to backtrack on recovery efforts. Live shows in New York City, for example, have gone dark abruptly just as holiday festivities reached a high point. To the north, Cape Cod hospitals were reportedly at capacity.
In Europe, the quick-spreading Omicron variant is moving very quickly. The Netherlands resuming lockdowns and Britain is threatening to do the same before Christmas. Spain’s infection rate rose above 500 cases per 100,000 people on Friday, more than doubling since the start of the month.
