Mexico City – Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Americans should reconsider their spring break plans and nonessential travel to Mexico this month, the U.S. Embassy said through a health and safety advisory issued on March 4, 2021.
In the advisory, the U.S. government warned that, in most of Mexico, the number of coronavirus cases and COVID-related hospitalizations remain high.
As of March 8, Mexico had confirmed 2,130,477 cases since the beginning of the pandemic. However, access to COVID-19 testing is limited throughout Mexico, making health experts believe the real number of cases could be three times higher than the official count.
Mexican authorities have a color-coded – red, orange, yellow, green – ‘stoplight’ system, which tracks how each state is faring based on four factors: case number trends (whether new infections are increasing, decreasing or stable), hospital admission trends, hospital occupancy levels, and positive testing rates.
Currently, popular beach vacation destinations, such as Puerto Vallarta, Cancun and Playa del Carmen, are yellow on Mexico’s Covid stoplight, meaning community transmission level is moderate in these areas, and hotels are allowed to operate at 60% capacity.
The U.S. embassy in Mexico also warned that consular services for American citizens are limited in many locations because of the pandemic.
The border is partially closed until at least March 21. If returning through land ports of entry, only U.S. citizens and legal residents are allowed to cross the land border. People with tourist visas can still travel to the United States from Mexico by air.
However, people returning to the U.S. by plane must show a negative COVID-19 test performed no more than three days before their scheduled flights.
If travelers have had COVID-19 recently – as far back as three months – they can submit medical documentation showing they have been released. Additionally, travelers must submit an affidavit stating they are not coronavirus carriers.
All this documentation must be submitted to airline staff at check-in.
If you DO decide to travel to Mexico this month, the Mexican government encourages people to continue wearing masks, respecting social distancing measures, washing their hands frequently, and coughing or sneezing in the inner part of the elbow to prevent the spread of COVID-19. A variety of prevention measures can be found at coronavirus.gob.mx.
Sources: mx.usembassy.gov – Dallas Morning News
