Third wave of COVID-19 hits Cancun and Los Cabos, jewels of international tourism

Athird wave of coronavirus fueled by The highly contagious delta variant is hitting two of Mexico’s most popular tourist destinations on opposite coasts: Los Cabos in the Pacific and Cancun in the Caribbean.

In Cancun, cases have skyrocketed to the point where the Hard Rock hotel has reserved two floors for guests with symptoms. Some hotels say they offer discounts for those in quarantine until they are no longer contagious.

In Baja California Sur, where Los Cabos is located, authorities are again rushing to add beds to overloaded hospitals, which last week reached 75% capacity before dropping to 62% on Thursday. The beaches of the city of La Paz were ordered to be closed, although local media show that many ignore the order.

Since Mexico has not restricted travel during the pandemic, both domestic and foreign tourists have flocked to tourist areas. In June, 557,400 passengers landed in Los Cabos, a 15% increase over June 2019. Cancun received just over 2 million, slightly below pre-pandemic levels, but much more than the 175,000 visitors for the year past.

“The delta variant has a strong presence in the Yucatan peninsula, particularly in Quintana Roo and Baja California Sur, where around 80% of the new tests are now delta”said Alejandro Macías, who oversaw the H1N1 epidemic in Mexico in 2009.

Like much of Latin America, Mexico has been hit by the covid, and is among the most affected countries in the world. During a second devastating wave in January, paramedics had to drive for hours in search of hospital beds and oxygen tanks. The paucity of evidence in the country has even led the government to admit that the deaths are much higher than the official figure, which according to an estimate would be 540,000.

Despite promises of special care for people who contract the virus on vacation, some visitors tell a different story. Lindy Ray from Durant, Oklahoma, traveled to Cancun in early June to celebrate her honeymoon with her husband Trey. “We were very excited to be able to spend some time alone on the beach”, he said in a message.

Everything went as promised and they had a great time. But they began to feel ill when it was time to get tested for covid to return to the United States. It came out positive.

They were escorted to their room, where they had to stay another week and agree not to leave. The hotel said they would discount their rate, but charged them almost the full rate.

“We could only order room service, there were only 5-6 items we could choose from,” Ray said. “We asked for medicine several times and they brought us three of the six things we asked for. The room was not cleaned after we tested positive. We ran out of toilet paper for a few days. “

What happens on the coasts is also reflected in Mexico City, where the Minister of Health, Oliva López, said on Monday that the delta variant now predominates. Deaths remain relatively low, with about 69% of the city’s adult population having received at least one vaccine, he said on television. Hospitals are filling up: occupancy increased from 7% to 28% in just one month.

The capital has administered more vaccines as a percentage of the population than any other area, except the border states of Baja California and Chihuahua, where a campaign to reopen the border with the United States led to a huge vaccination push.