by Donald Wood
Last updated: 10:42 AM ET, Mon January 25, 2021
Beaches in popular Mexican Caribbean destinations like Cancun and Playa del Carmen will remain open despite a recent surge in COVID-19 cases and additional warnings from health officials.
According to the Riviera Maya News, mayors from both cities announced that local beaches would remain open to the public as the northern region of Quintana Roo falls under the orange epidemiological light, but they would operate at 30 percent capacity.
Cancun mayor Mara Lezama said a "relaxation of health measures" among tourists and locals was partially to blame for the massive spike in confirmed coronavirus cases, which caused the change to orange on the epidemiological scale to not come as a surprise to officials.
"People thought that the disease was over, that the virus was gone, but it has not gone, it is still here," Lezama told the Riviera Maya News. "We are still in the middle of a pandemic," she stressed."
Playa del Carmen mayor Laura Beristain Navarrete pointed out that Quintana Roo has been at an orange light at a federal level for months, but the area was opened to tourists due to "economic recovery issues."
"One day the airports were opened, the holidays arrived and here are the results," Beristain Navarrete said. "We are not looking to lay guilt, that would be inappropriate. We have to continue serving as always, as public servants."
While sanitary protocols are increased and capacity is lowered at businesses across the northern region of Quintana Roo, destinations in the southern portion of the state will continue to operate at 60 percent capacity.
In addition, the mayor of Cozumel announced the island would not regress to the orange light with the rest of the region, as the COVID-19 numbers within the destination are still under control.
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