Yucatán loosens curfew and eases limits on restaurant hours

Yucatán is easing its pandemic curfew, allowing drivers on the road at night between Sunday and Wednesday.

Travel restrictions are still in place Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m.

Curfews are meant to discourage late-night socializing, but also frustrate workers and travelers simply trying to get home or make a flight.

The change, which begins Monday, also allows restaurants, shops, shopping malls, and casinos to operate until midnight between Sunday and Wednesday.

Cantinas are still closed, much to the consternation of bar owners who feel singled out. These off-and-on restrictions have frustrated business owners practically since the pandemic began. The first road restrictions began in July 2020, along with a dry law.

Some sports fields will also open, including the International Rowing and Canoeing Track in Progreso and General Salvador Alvarado Stadium in Mérida.

The announcements were made during the daily Yucatán health ministry briefing in which 260 new infections and 16 coronavirus-related deaths were also reported.

The youngest fatality was a 27-year-old man from Kanasín who was also battling obesity, doctors said.

Those who perished averaged 60 years old; five had no comorbidities.

Deaths since the pandemic reached Yucatán have totaled 5,746 while infections are just shy of 67,000.

Almost all the new infections were in Mérida with 214, followed by Valladolid with 10.

Active cases include 2,442 stable patients isolated at home with mild symptoms, up 29 over the day before. Another and 266 are in public hospitals, the same as Wednesday. Private-hospital statistics are not included in the daily briefing.

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