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Road Closures, Sanitary Measures, And Inspections To Go Forward As Orange Level Begins
Cancun is set to see even more restrictions enforced as Quintana Roo announces a host of new rules. The new restrictions will begin today, tied in within the beginning of the orange light designation.
COVID rates have been surging since the beginning of the New Year in Quintana Roo. Cancun, Tulum, and other hotspots in the region saw millions of tourists swarm through their hotels and attractions, leaving a drastic Omicron surge in their wake.
The Governor of Quintana Roo had already brought the state back to a yellow designation two weeks ago, but the restrictions did little to stem the surge in infections. Another regression to orange was announced last week, with the brand new set of restrictions starting today.
Most of the restrictions in place involve hotel, restaurant, and other event’s capacities, but the new announcement suggests a stronger emphasis on enforcement and minimizing any additional spread.
Whereas the other economic restrictions will have an effect on individual businesses, visitors to the area will become particularly aware of these measures that are designed to combat social behavior that could make the situation worse.
One new development is road closures in the Quintana Roo region. Cancun and the other hotspots will be especially affected but this measure, as the hotel strips will be some of the main roads being closed. From 8 PM onwards, police will begin slowing traffic through predetermined roads, filtering out the bulk of non-necessary vehicles. After 1:30 AM, these roads will be completely shut and will not open again until 5 AM.
The verbiage suggests this will include pedestrians, effectively shutting down some areas of the city after 1:30 AM. Cancun, Playa del Carmen, Tulum, Isla de Mujeres, Cozumel, and Thin P. Blanco will all be under this new curfew.
Those in the area can expect the rules to be enforced by the local police force who will be on the streets with loudspeakers as the time for closures approaches, and beyond to ensure that all are obeying.
Public transport will have signs showing all current sanitary measures on them, as well as increased enforcement of social distancing, masks wearing, and other rules that were previously seen.
Inspectors will also be patrolling the affected regions, to ensure that all establishments are obeying the current rules. Inspectors from other states are being brought in to double down on the current manpower available. These inspectors will be ensuring that a number of different measures at being obeyed, both by customers and the establishments themselves. This could be social distancing but in particular, the maximum capacity rules will are currently reduced to 50%.
The decision marks an interesting departure for the government who up until recently has been content with just announcing the new regulations. The prospect of a red light designation looms over the tourist spots in Quintana Roo. With infection rates continuing to rise well into the thousands, it’s not out of the question that it may happen soon, forcing drastic closures or at most take-aways from all restaurants and further rules on hotels.
The beaches in Cancun were being reported as packed on Sunday as tourists scrambled to have one last day of lesser restrictions. Some claimed to be ending their trip early to avoid any problems with the orange designation, although some chose to stay on and try and enjoy their trip.
The yellow designation did very little to stifle tourist numbers in the area. Hotels saw maximum capacities reached across the board and restaurants, although limited in their capacity, were seeing customers in high enough numbers to remain content.
It remains to be seen how the orange designation will affect the tourist experience, but the new announcement suggests it may be a big difference from the previous weeks.
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