Mexican State Quintana Roo Easing Some COVID-19 Restrictions

The Mexican state of Quintana Roo is easing its coronavirus restrictions ahead of spring break.

Regional reopening plans rely on the Mexican Ministry of Health’s four-tier Traffic Light Monitoring System, in which each state is assigned one of four colors — Green, Yellow, Orange, or Red —  to represent its present epidemiological status, based on hospital occupancy rates and new infection rates.

Quintana Roo this week announced it was downgraded from Orange to Yellow as of March 1, following a decrease in confirmed COVID-19 cases in the area.

The state, which includes the major tourist destinations of Cancún, Tulum, and Playa del Carmen, is raising capacity limits from 30% to 60% at hotels, restaurants, and beaches, Quintana Roo government officials announced on Twitter.

Golf courses will be permitted to operate at 100% capacity, while tourist marinas and nautical activities can operate at 70% in open spaces and 60% in closed spaces. Water parks and spas will also bump up to a 60% capacity allowance.

Nightclubs and bars, however, will stay closed.

Travelers visiting Mexico are required to register with the government online and show proof of registration via a QR code received once they arrive.

 U.S. travelers will also need to present a negative COVID-19 test upon departure for re-entry into the states, but numerous resorts throughout Mexico are offering onsite testing to guests to make the entire process easier.

While in Mexico, visitors must still wear a mask while in public places, including on beaches, and in hotels, shops, and restaurants.

Mexico has been experiencing a tourism bump as of late, with nearly half of those tourists coming from the U.S. as of January. According to Marisol Vanegas Pérez, the region’s State Secretariat of Tourism, Quintana Roo saw nearly 1 million travelers between Dec. 22 and Jan. 6.

In an interview with Riviera Maya News, a local newspaper, Pérez noted that many of the visiting tourists were Americans.

“With everything that has happened due to the pandemic, we could say that we had a successful year-end holiday season with a good number of hotels open, increased operations at the airport, tourists from the United States and from around the country. We also had tourists from other nations, which translates into job creation and more operations for travel agents, rental companies, nautical services, and restaurants among many others,” Pérez told the outlet.