Mexico and Enumclaw, Washington are a little different in how they treat covid. Enumclaw is anti-vax, for the most part; so the citizens tend to flout the masking laws when they can get away with it. Virtually no one wears one outside; and many stores and restaurants have both employees and customers not bothering to ever wear masks. Some actually lose their tempers when asked to put one on.
Stores, restaurants, and offices are more strict here in Puerto Vallarta. There are little rubber mats at the entrances, with puddles of disinfectant on them. You are supposed to walk thru and then dry your shoes on another mat that is just beyond the first. Then, a guard or doorman spritzes your hands with hand sanitizer and scans your wrist for temperature. This happens in all major businesses including when entering a mall.
Masks stay on while inside unless one is eating or drinking. I see very few that are breaking the rules. However, the smaller businesses are much more lax, especially the bars and restaurants. The staff mostly have masks, but they are usually pulled down. The customers either don’t wear them at all, or dispense with them quickly. It is actually the law to wear masks on the beaches and sidewalks, anywhere but at home. That is happening the most on the Malecon, the wide walkway that parallels the ocean beaches for a mile. That gets crowded, sometimes there is little room to even walk, and I guess people feel safer with masks. In the rest of the city, I would guess 90% aren’t wearing them, though everyone keeps one readily available. Even the police and soldiers usually have them pulled down. Masks are uncomfortable to wear when it’s 90°F with high humidity. No one wears them at the park, while playing sports.
The covid rate has been dropping in PV, so the urgency is going away. I’m not sure on the vaccination rate, but I’ve heard this city is one of the most vaccinated in Mexico. A recent report said the sick rate is the lowest since covid began. The hospitals and ER’s are becoming less busy. The schools are only open 2 days per week, and universities are open on alternate weeks (but no reduction in tuition costs!). The teachers and professors load up the students with extra homework. I feel bad for them. More boring, that way. And unnecessary, in my opinion.
At my hotel, the workers rarely wear masks and I’ve quit wearing one when coming and going. The reception area is open air and so are all the walking areas inside. All the rooms’ windows are left open, unless a guest wants privacy while dressing or sleeping. I leave my windows open all the time, but close the curtains enough for decency while changing or using the restroom. There is no real temperature difference between inside and outside anyway. The ceiling fans just make the rooms feel cooler.
The new governor of Jalisco, which is the state where Puerto Vallarta is located, had announced a couple weeks back that there would be a crackdown on people not wearing their masks in public spaces, with an $80 fine to be assessed on guilty parties. Luckily, I’ve seen no sign of that happening here. If it did, I would probably pack up and leave, heading back to the US. No way would I wear a mask in public all the time, especially in this climate (or any climate!).
The tourists here are the least likely to be wearing masks. Maybe it’s being oblivious, or feeling secure with having been vaxxed already, or even a sense of entitlement. Tourism does pay the bills for this city. There would be a major depression in PV, if the tourists and expats stopped coming and staying here. So, I’m sure the authorities are being cautious about killing that golden egg. I think this area is in pretty good shape unless there is another nasty version that mutates.
That said, it’s also only American tourists that ever give me a dirty look for not wearing a mask. Even here, you get the self righteous type who think people need to be wearing masks even in their cars, on the beach, in the open air, between bites at a restaurant, etc. I’ve never seen a local get upset at someone being lax about having the mask pulled up over the nose. The doormen may remind someone, but not in a snotty way. It’s American liberals that have perfected that.
Even the Delta variant isn’t killing above 1% of those infected. I think we will see a slightly elevated amount of unhealthy and elderly people dying over the next few years, especially during winter season. Then covid will either be cured, die out, or accepted as a somewhat worse flu bug that we can’t do much about.
iggyvandweller 