Sneakers on the ground Mexico Safety and Covid
By Dorothy Bell
Bill and I cautiously planned
our trip to Mexico. We have some serious updating on our web that we wanted to do and our beloved Mexico needed to see us again.
We took all safety precautions. We are doubly vaccinated. Lots of K 95 masks. A ton of hand sanitizer. Read like crazy. But nothing is like having boots on the ground. We knew from experience that what often appears in travel blogs is paid-for hype so we were prepared for the worst.
The Air Canada Plane was packed. Not a vacant seat in site. No meals were served and water and juice was offered once for the 5 hour flight. I think it’s a question of being cheap rather than a covid precaution.
We arrived in Mexico City in the early evening and took an Uber to our hotel. The driver was masked and the car had a plastic partition between the driver and the passengers. It was duct taped in place.
The hotel had a doorman who ensured we sanitized our hands, took our temperature and then instructed us to step on a plastic square that held an inch of some type of fluid. This is common and is used to sanitize your shoes. He then indicated that we hold our arms up to the side and he sprayed us with some kind of sanitizer.
There was a hand sanitizing station beside the elevator with clear instructions in Spanish and English regarding space between people.
Our room was sanitized and coffee supplies were packed into a tiny brown paper bag.
The restaurant was open and again the hand sanitizer station guarded the entrance. Again arms up and we were sprayed. The waiter took our temperature and then led us to our table. Many of the tables had reserved signs on them so there would be adequate space between diners.
I should note that everyone on the trip thus far was masked and in some cases double masked. The only time we saw a naked face was when someone was drinking or eating.
Later that first day we went to the zocalo or main city square. Normally it is horribly crowded and difficult to make your way. Not so this time. The square itself was blocked off, and streets around the Cathedral and National Palace had only a handful of street merchants selling mostly tourist trinkets. The Diego Riviera Murals were closed as was the ancient site nestled beside the Cathedral.
Mexico City is Mexico City and we were eager to see what the covid procedures were like in towns and villages and in differences in other states. Remarkably our experiences standard throughout our journey. We visited Teotihuacan, Oaxaca, Merida, Valladolid and many roadside stops along the way.
Here is a Summary
Restaurants have a temperature checks and require you to sanitize your hands and sometimes spray your body. You must wear a mask until you are seated. The seating is spaced.
Stores and markets have sanitizers (both hand and foot) and require masks. There are limits to number of people who are allowed into premises and these are strictly enforced.
Masks and double masks are the norm. Inside and outside. If someone is jogging around the park, likely they are wearing a mask. If they are sightseeing, they are wearing a mask.
If an individual was not wearing a mask, forgive my attempts at profiling, they appeared to be foreigners. Their clothes were westernized. They spoke with an accent or they looked like a tourist.
We grew accustomed to the Mexican procedures and ways and felt comfortable,
We felt the biggest problem in our case would be if we needed some medical attention – a broken foot for example, or a car accident – that the hospital would be too overrun and would be unable to take us. However when we walked by hospitals and clinics – they were not overflowing with lineups (as we have seen in the past with dengue stricken areas in our travels).
We felt cautious but safe.
Please write us and let us know what your safety experience was like.
