August 9, 2021, COVID-19 Cancun Mexico Facts

If you are researching information about traveling to Cancun Mexico and the Caribbean region during COVID-19, here is a glimpse of what you can expect as of August 2021.

We want to provide you with true information and the source where we found it to help you make an informed decision based on facts and not hype or opinion.

Tim and I have been traveling to Cancun almost every month since COVID-19 was declared a pandemic in March of 2020.

Combined we have made well more than 15 trips to Cancun, including our most recent trip where we brought our two teenage boys down to Cancun at the end of July and returned August 5^th, 2021.

First let’s look at the real numbers:

Cancun is located inside the state of Quintana Roo on the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. The state is approximately 19,387 square miles and has a population of 1.858 million people.

To give you a better perspective, the state has about the same population as West Virginia or Idaho.

The city of Cancun has a population of about 572,973 people – not including the tourists. To give you another perspective, Cancun has about the same amount of people as Albuquerque, New Mexico but less than Milwaukee Wisconsin.

Each state inside Mexico is assigned a color based on the current rates of infection and hospital occupancy. This color-coded mechanism or “stop light” is a monitoring system used by Mexican authorities to regulate the use of public spaces according to the risk of contagion of COVID-19.

The “stop light” is updated every two weeks by the federal and state government with the guidance of Mexico’s Ministry of Health Specialist. It is simple to read, just like a traffic stop light.

Red: only essential economic activities will be allowed, and people will also be allowed to go for a walk around their homes during the day.

Orange: In addition to essential economic activities, companies of non-essential economic activities will be allowed to work with 30% of the personnel for their operation, always considering the maximum care measures for people with a higher risk of presenting a serious picture of COVID-19, open public spaces will be opened with a reduced capacity.

Yellow: All work activities are allowed, caring for people with a higher risk of presenting a serious picture of COVID-19. Open public space is open on a regular basis, and closed public spaces can be opened with reduced capacity. As in other traffic light colors, these activities must be carried out with basic prevention measures and maximum care for people with a higher risk of presenting a serious picture of COVID-19.

Green: All activities are allowed, including opening the schools.

To see what color Cancun currently is click here.

On May 3^rd, to be proactive against the large amount of spring break travelers, the status of Quintana Roo was changed from yellow to orange.

The key word here is “reported” cases. In July last year Mexico did not have rapid testing available for travelers. If you wanted to get tested you had to go to the hospital to get tested. Most people who did that thought they were sick.

So technically you could say that cases are up over July of 2020 because there was no testing being done in July of 2020.

The New York Times has stated that August 2021 has been the worst month for cases, what they are not explaining is the ratio of cases that are positive to the amount of people being tested.

More and more people are traveling to Cancun for the summer break. These travelers are required to be tested before they can return to the United States. This is the sole reason why there are more and more cases being reported. More people traveling to Mexico from the United States equals more COVID-19 testing in Mexico.

The media needs to sell news, and bad news sells the most.

The fact is on August 4^th 2021, the retail and recreational mobility report for Quintana Roo was down only 1% from March 12, 2020 -the day before COVID-19 was declared an epidemic. This data is the movement trends for places like restaurants, cafes, shopping centers, theme parks, museums, libraries, and movie theaters.

So based on this fact, August has had the most amount of travelers since the pandemic started and therefore the most amount of COVID tests as well.

As of August 8^th, Carlos Joaquin the Governor of Quintana Roo reported that there have been 46,704 positive cases, 47,993 negative cases and 3,411 people have passed away from COVID in the state of Quintana Roo.

The weekly deaths in the state of Quintana Roo are averaging 35 people per week. The fatality rate has continued to decrease since the state has increased their vaccinations.

Fact: Using the Historical Occupancy Scale July 31, 2020, there was 15,892 people in Intensive care for COVID-19. July 31, 2021, there was 9,773 a difference of 40% less people are hospitalized with COVID-19 right now over last year.

January 2021 was the worst month for deaths associated with COVID in Mexico as a whole.

As of August 9, 2021, the state of Quintana Roo has administered over 1,260,000 COVID-19 Vaccines against COVID-19.

The 7-day average per 100 people in the total population of Mexico was .75 on July 31, 2021, compared to .20 for the United States of America. For vaccines that require multiple doses, each individual dose is counted.

Mexico is using the Pfizer vaccine that requires two doses to provide the greatest protection.

Trying to find the correct percent of people vaccinated is difficult because some countries report their data different than other countries.

As if January 26, 2021, all passengers arriving in the United States are required to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test administered within 72 hours of their arrival.

Getting tested in Cancun is easy. There are COVID testing trailers located almost every 3 kilometers up and down the Hotel Zone.

You can even get tested inside your own penthouse.

Based on the type of test you want and how much time you want to spend getting your COVID test determines how much money you will pay for it.

For example if you want a antigen test and are willing to take a bus to a outdoor testing site and wait in line outside under the scorching hot sun with others that are also getting tested you may find it for about $30 USD. Be careful where you get your test taken, there are fraudulent tests being sold and you do not want to risk not receiving your test in time for your flight home.

A Doctor can be sent directly to your penthouse to administer the test in the privacy of your own space. This is very convenient if you did not rent a car on your vacation.

Taking a bus or a taxi to search out a COVID-19 testing location is frustrating. Also, when you do this you are on a first come first serve basis. They do not make appointments.

August 9, 2021, COVID-19 Cancun Mexico Facts

If you are researching information about traveling to Cancun Mexico and the Caribbean region during COVID-19, here is a glimpse of what you can expect as of August 2021.

We want to provide you with true information and the source where we found it to help you make an informed decision based on facts and not hype or opinion.

Tim and I have been traveling to Cancun almost every month since COVID-19 was declared a pandemic.

Combined we have made well more than 15 trips to Cancun, including our most recent trip where we brought our two teenage boys down to Cancun at the end of July and returned August 5^th, 2021.

First let’s look at the real numbers:

Cancun

Cancun is located inside the state of Quintana Roo on the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. The state is approximately 19,387 square miles and has a population of 1.858 million people.

To give you a better perspective, the state has about the same population as West Virginia or Idaho.

The city of Cancun has a population of about 572,973 people – not including the tourists. To give you another perspective, Cancun has about the same amount of people as Albuquerque, New Mexico but less than Milwaukee Wisconsin.

The Mexican Epidemiological Risk Stoplight

Each state inside Mexico is assigned a color based on the current rates of infection and hospital occupancy. This color-coded mechanism “stop light” is a monitoring system used by Mexican authorities to regulate the use of public spaces according to the risk of contagion of COVID-19.

The “stop light” is updated every two weeks by the federal and state government with the guidance of Mexico’s Ministry of Health Specialist. It is simple to read, just like a traffic stop light.

Red: only essential economic activities will be allowed, and people will also be allowed to go for a walk around their homes during the day.

Orange: In addition to essential economic activities, companies of non-essential economic activities will be allowed to work with 30% of the personnel for their operation, always considering the maximum care measures for people with a higher risk of presenting a serious picture of COVID-19, open public spaces will be opened with a reduced capacity.

Yellow: All work activities are allowed, caring for people with a higher risk of presenting a serious picture of COVID-19. Open public space is open on a regular basis, and closed public spaces can be opened with reduced capacity. As in other traffic light colors, these activities must be carried out with basic prevention measures and maximum care for people with a higher risk of presenting a serious picture of COVID-19.

Green: All activities are allowed, including opening the schools.

To see what color Cancun currently is click here.

On May 3^rd, to be proactive against the large amount of spring break travelers, the status of Quintana Roo was changed from yellow to orange.

Reported Cases

The key word here is “reported” cases. In July last year Mexico did not have rapid testing available for travelers. If you wanted to get tested you had to go to the hospital to get tested. Most people who did that thought they were sick.

So technically you could say that cases are up over July of 2020 because there was no testing being done in July of 2020.

The New York Times has stated that August 2021 has been the worst month for cases, what they are not explaining is the ratio of cases that are positive to the amount of people being tested.

More and more people are traveling to Cancun for the summer break. These travelers are required to be tested before they can return to the United States. This is the sole reason why there are more and more cases being reported. More people traveling to Mexico from the United States equals more COVID-19 testing in Mexico.

The media needs to sell news, and bad news sells the most.

The fact is on August 4^th 2021, the retail and recreational mobility report for Quintana Roo was down only 1% from March 12, 2020 -the day before COVID-19 was declared an epidemic. This data is the movement trends for places like restaurants, cafes, shopping centers, theme parks, museums, libraries, and movie theaters.

So based on this fact, August has had the most amount of travelers since the pandemic started and therefore the most amount of COVID tests as well.

As of August 8^th, Carlos Joaquin the Governor of Quintana Roo reported that there have been 46,704 positive cases, 47,993 negative cases and 3,411 people have passed away from COVID in the state of Quintana Roo.

Deaths

The weekly deaths in the state of Quintana Roo are averaging 35 people per week. The fatality rate has continued to decrease since the state has increased their vaccinations.

Fact: Using the Historical Occupancy Scale July 31, 2020, there was 15,892 people in Intensive care for COVID-19. July 31, 2021, there was 9,773 a difference of 40% less people are hospitalized with COVID-19 right now over last year.

January 2021 was the worst month for deaths associated with COVID in Mexico as a whole.

Vaccines

As of August 9, 2021, the state of Quintana Roo has administered over 1,260,000 COVID-19 Vaccines against COVID-19.

The 7-day average per 100 people in the total population of Mexico was .75 on July 31, 2021, compared to .20 for the United States of America. For vaccines that require multiple doses, each individual dose is counted.

Mexico is using the Pfizer vaccine that requires two doses to provide the greatest protection.

Trying to find the correct percent of people vaccinated is difficult because some countries report their data different than other countries.