Visitors

capacity as the number of cases and deaths continues to climb.

But even so, Puerto Peñasco — or Rocky Point, as it’s also known in the United States — has pushed ahead with a phased reopening, eager to relieve economic pressures on the resort city highly dependent on Arizona visitors, especially during the summer.

The local government implemented and enforced very strict guidelines early on, including setting up a military checkpoint to restrict all outside access into the city and shutting down its famed beaches.

Mayor Kiko Munro said those actions spared them the public health emergencies affecting other cities on both sides of the border. As of July 12, state health officials reported a total of 38 cases and five deaths from COVID-19 in Puerto Peñasco since March.

“Peñasco remains one of the safest and healthiest destinations in the region, backed by state and federal statistics,” Munro said.

But the city’s decision to welcome back visitors starting June 17 placed it at odds with residents in Sonoyta, a city of about 17,000 people with very limited resources and access to medical care.

The issue boiled over during the Fourth of July weekend, after Sonora announced it would restrict travel from Arizona over the holiday to keep the virus from spreading.

Starting on the evening of July 2, a group calling itself Sonoyta Unido Jamás Será Vencido, or “Sonoyta united will never be defeated,” used their cars to block Mexico-bound traffic at the border crossing after seeing a lack of controls at their city.

“What we were asking for at the beginning was to be heard, to acknowledge the situation in Sonoyta. We are not in position to have an increase in the number of cases,” said Carlos Chávez Jácquez, the spokesman for the group.

Residents turned away U.S. drivers at the border crossing, blocking their access to Puerto Peñasco until late July 4, even if they had reservations or owned homes, he said.

The group lifted the blockade July 5 after getting assurances that their demands would be addressed. But they resumed the blockade the following day citing a lack of progress, once again turning away visitors from Arizona.

As negotiations concluded on July 7, group members remained stationed south of the border crossing to keep up pressure on local, state and federal elected leaders to improve medical services in the city and provide oxygen tanks and other medical supplies to the local health clinic.

“We understand that we’re in the middle of a pandemic, but we’re not asking anything out of this world, only that they guarantee health access for residents and the medical treatment that we need, that’s required to treat emergencies,” Chávez Jácquez said.

The blockade at the border crossing in Sonoyta was not an isolated event.

Residents in Nogales, the main border crossing between Arizona and Sonora, also used their cars to block Mexico-bound traffic back in March to demand stricter controls on Arizona visitors at a time cases in Mexico were rare.

The next day, Sonora’s Health Ministry deployed staff to the major border crossings to screen travelers.

‘Our health system is collapsing’

Sonoyta is located about an hour north of Puerto Peñasco along Mexican Federal Highway 8. Most visitors from Arizona cross the border there and take that highway to get to the beach.

Its residents’ main concern is the high COVID-19 infection rate in Arizona. The state is a U.S. hot spot, with 123,824 known cases and 2,245 deaths as of July 13, the state reported.

After mounting pressure, on June 29, Gov. Doug Ducey ordered bars, gyms and theaters to close again for 30 days to curb the spread of the virus. But many other businesses remain open, and Ducey has refused to mandate the use of face masks statewide.

“People are very worried because our health system is collapsing, and it’s concerning that Arizona is such a big hot spot for infections,” said José Ramos Árzate. He’s the mayor for the municipality of General Plutarco Elías Calles, which includes Sonoyta.

“The United States is a First World country, but we’re not. We have decaying health care services,” he said.

The municipality of General Plutarco Elías Calles has reported 56 confirmed cases and six COVID-19 deaths as of July 12. But the mayor acknowledged the true number could be four or five times higher given the limited access to medical services in his city.

Chávez Jácquez said Sonoyta has only essential medical services, and its clinics lack staff and equipment.

Any person requiring hospitalization or advanced care, especially for COVID-19, must be transported an hour away to better-equipped hospitals in Puerto Peñasco, which is nearly four times larger in population.

“And if the system collapses in Peñasco, then people will end up dying here. And residents know that can happen,” Ramos Árzate said.

Because of its size and remoteness, Sonoyta also lacks banks, government offices and other basic services, so residents must also travel to Puerto Peñasco for those. But they claim the beach city has denied them access at the checkpoint because they don’t live there.

Chávez Jácquez said Sonoyta residents were also angry about an incident involving an ambulance with a COVID-19 patient from Sonoyta that was turned away at the checkpoint. The person had to be transported to Caborca, three hours away, instead, he said.

Munro pushed back, calling that issue a misunderstanding. He said more than 1,000 people from Sonoyta have received care at hospitals in Puerto Peñasco since the lockdown orders began.

Mayors reach deal on visitors

Even though Puerto Peñasco has been receiving U.S. visitors for nearly a month, a decision by Sonora Gov. Claudia Pavlovich on July 1 precipitated the border blockade in Sonoyta and the subsequent negotiations to allow Arizonans to cross.

Given the high number of infections in Arizona, Pavlovich announced her government would install “sanitary filters” at the state’s main border crossings during the extended Fourth of July weekend “to warn people that they can’t cross unless they come for an essential reason,” she had said.

Any U.S. visitors traveling for nonessential reasons would be turned back.

By July 3, Munro said the city had successfully lobbied the governor to exempt Arizona visitors with hotel reservations in Puerto Peñasco traveling through Sonoyta, citing the strict protocols in place and the low number of cases in the city.

“For Puerto Peñasco, tourism is an essential activity,” he said. “About 80 percent of families are dependent on this activity to sustain themselves. In other words, eight in 10 families depend directly or indirectly from tourism.”

As local officials touted their success and issued messages and advisories welcoming tourists, angry residents in Sonoyta organized and set up the blockade to keep U.S. visitors away.

Negotiations between Munro and Ramos Árzate to address the residents’ concerns continued into July 7, when they finalized the deal that would allow Arizona visitors to travel through Sonoyta on their way to Puerto Peñasco.

As part of the deal, the government and private businesses in Puerto Peñasco agreed to donate personal protective equipment and rapid detection tests for COVID-19 to residents in Sonoyta. They also agreed to donate the materials to set up a medical checkpoint at the border crossing to screen Arizona visitors.

Munro also emphasized in the agreement that Sonoyta residents would be allowed into Puerto Peñasco for essential services, such as banking. Under the terms of the deal, Munro agreed to open access at the checkpoint and to deliver the medical supplies to Sonoyta.

“If they don’t comply with what they promised, then we will resume our protest,” Chávez Jácquez said.

What Arizona visitors should know

Since Puerto Peñasco opened its doors on June 17, the city has received 8,000 to 9,000 visitors, according to the Puerto Peñasco Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Hector Vásquez del Mercado, the bureau’s president, said occupation at the city’s resorts and hotels has yet to exceed 30%. He reminded visitors they will have to follow the city’s guidelines.

That includes frequent temperature checks at hotels and restaurants, the use of face masks in public at all times, and respecting social distancing rules.

He added that the phased reopening in Puerto Peñasco has allowed local businesses to educate their employees and to apply those safer practices ahead of visitors’ arrival.

“We think we can be a role model, not just nationally, from being a border community, but also an example on the international level of how to do an orderly and gradual reopening of the economy,” he said.

The city government, as well as the convention and visitors bureau, have posted on their websites the Englishlanguage versions of their “Entry protocols for tourists,” which include a list of certified hotels and properties adhering to their guidelines.

While visitors are able to partake in a number of activities, ranging from fishing and boating to golfing and off-roading, at least one major activity will remain off-limits in the near future: visiting the beach.

Munro closed beach access in March to keep people from congregating. He lacks the authority to reopen them, although conversations were ongoing.

“We’re projecting opening our beaches by Aug. 1, if everything goes according to how we’ve planned things up until now,” he said.

Until then, options will remain limited for Arizona visitors.

Ramos Árzate urged people to consider the timing and the situation on both sides of the border before deciding to travel.

“I will not use police to prohibit people from crossing, but we have to act responsibly,” he said. “I don’t want visitors to take offense. They are welcome, but they have to act responsibly and, if they do come, follow all international safety protocols.”

The U.S. government implemented travel restrictions along the U.S.-Mexico border in March. The restrictions have been extended until July 21.

However, the notice lists “U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents returning to the United States” as “essential travel.”