Fleeing lockdowns, Americans are flocking to Mexico

As the coronavirus pandemic wore endlessly on, Rob George began to find the confinement in his West Hollywood home unbearable.

“There were weeks where I just wouldn’t leave my house, just working all day — my mental health was definitely suffering,” said George, 31, who manages business operations for a technology startup.

So when a Mexican friend said he was traveling to Mexico City in November, George decided to tag along. Now, he’s calling the Mexican capital home — part of an increasing number of foreigners who are heading to Mexico, for a short trip or a longer stay to escape restrictions at home.

Some of them are staying and taking advantage of the six-month tourist visa that Americans are granted on arrival.

Some Mexicans find the move irresponsible amid a pandemic, especially as the virus overwhelms Mexico City and its hospitals. Others say the problem lies with Mexican authorities, who waited too long to enact strict lockdown measures, making Mexico City enticing to outsiders.

In November, more than half a million Americans came to Mexico — of those, almost 50,000 arrived at Mexico City’s airport, according to official figures,

less than half the number of U.S. visitors who arrived in November last year but a surge from the 4,000 that came in April, when much of Mexico was shut down. Since then, numbers have ticked up steadily: between June and August, U.S. visitors more than doubled.

The surge comes as Mexico City enters a critical phase of the pandemic; hospitals are so stretched that many sick people stay home as their relatives struggle to buy them oxygen. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has advised Americans to avoid all travel to Mexico.

In mid-December, authorities escalated Mexico City’s alert system to the highest level — red — which requires an immediate shutdown of all but essential businesses. But the lockdown came weeks after numbers became critical, even by the government’s own figures.