Mexico Reaches Its Safest Level Since The Pandemic Began

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Besides being perhaps the freest country when it comes to travel restrictions, enacting zero Covid regulations at its external borders, Mexico has now officially reached its safest epidemiological level since the pandemic began. In its traffic light system, which helps assess health risks across different states, all of Mexico is green for the first time since Omicron started receding.

Within the Mexican classification, a green status symbolizes the optimal health scenario, when cases and thus hospitalizations and death rates are low, and social curbs can be eased. With the whole country classed as ‘green', Mexico reinforces its position as a restriction-free haven welcoming all categories of travelers, including unvaccinated Americans.

New Cases Have Been Declining For Weeks Now

As reported by Hugo López-Gatell, Mexico's Undersecretary of Health, the nation is at its safest level of the pandemic, with new cases declining continuously, and rather sharply, for eight consecutive weeks.

As highlighted by López-Gatell, currently there are less than 12,500 active infections in Mexico, which obviously translate into low hospital bed occupation and the loosening of restrictions.

At the moment, only 7% of hospital beds are occupied by Covid patients, with the Undersecretary stating that the indicators point towards the lowest-ever Covid rates seen in Mexico since the crisis began.

López-Gatell attributed Mexico's success story to its ‘broad vaccination coverage', with over 80 million Mexicans having received a full course of an approved shot. Reiterating his positive remarks, he called Mexico ‘a country in green‘ during a conference with the President, Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

During this conference, the Undersecretary highlighted the positive trends seen across all 32 Mexican states, which are also a huge encouragement for the Federal Government. Previously, Mexico faced harsh criticism for taking a more relaxed approach in combating Covid.

Regardless of current trends, López-Gatell appeared cautious, acknowledging that Covid was still rampant in other parts of the world, especially following the identification of the new highly transmissible BA.2 variant.

In his own words, there is always a risk of ‘reincorporation of transmission', which would mean a return to high Covid levels should countries fail to stem the spread of new variants, including BA.2.

Recently, a number of destinations in Mexico have begun easing restrictions, including mandatory mask usage outdoors. Cancun has abolished the outdoor mask requirement since March 22, along with other Mexican Caribbean hotspots in the state of Quintana Roo, owing it to the maintenance of its ‘green' status.

The news were particularly welcomed by foreign tourists, who have been rushing to get to Mexico lately as most countries are yet to fully drop their guards. Much like the Undersecretary of Health, however, the State Governor in Quintana Roo refused to call his rollback of measures ‘definitive', suggesting mask usage could be reimposed if the situation deteriorates.

The BA.2 variant is already circulating heavily in Europe and the United States, causing new spikes in infections and prompting fears of a fresh round of harsher restrictions. As a country in North America, and in fact a neighbor of the United States, Mexico remains subject to suffering the impacts of a new BA.2 wave, irrespective of its present green light classification.

So far, the country has retained its lowest levels since March 2020. As displayed by the Reuters Covid tracking website, infections in the country are totalling a mere 6% of the peak and falling even further, with an average 14 infections per 100,000 inhabitants recorded over the last seven days.

As for average daily infections, they have hit the 2,715 mark. With very low Covid figures, an improved risk categorization on the American Government's part, and pre-pandemic entry requirements, Mexico is one of the easiest and epidemiologically safe countries to visit right now.

When flying to the sunny Riviera Maya or any other destination in Mexico, Americans are only required to carry a valid passport for the duration of their stay. If flying directly to Cancun Airport, travelers should beware of long waiting lines at customs checks and even bottlenecks at arrival halls, though the Mexican Government has committed to end those and streamline processing for foreign visitors.

U.S. citizens are also advised to follow CDC guidance and are reminded that, in order to return home to the United States, they will need a negative Covid test result issued within one day of travel even if vaccinated.

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