Cancun relaxes COVID-19 rules ahead of spring break travel

Unlike some spring-break hot spots in Florida, Cancun is actually easing its COVID-19 restrictions.

With spring-break travel fast approaching, popular tourist destinations in Mexico like Cancun, Playa del Carmen and Tulum are raising capacity limits from 30% to 60% at hotels, restaurants and beaches, Quintana Roo government officials announced on Twitter. Attractions and group tours will also be allowed to operate at 60% capacity. 

Nightclubs and bars will stay closed, the guidance says.

Travelers visiting Mexico also need to register with the government online and show proof of registration via a QR code received once they arrive. Face masks must be worn at all times inside the country’s restaurants, hotels and at airports. U.S. travelers will also need to present a negative COVID-19 test upon departure for re-entry into the states.

Meanwhile, Florida officials in popular destinations like Miami Beach and Fort Lauderdale were taking almost the opposite approach, implementing new restrictions to slow the spread of COVID-19. South Beach imposed a curfew between midnight and 6 a.m., prohibited alcohol consumption on beaches, which were also subject to limited-capacity requirements, among other things. And in Fort Lauderdale, Mayor Steve Gellar said residents and visitors can expect more law enforcement at busy areas, with social distancing and mask-wearing mandates being heavily enforced. 

Mexico, meanwhile, has been experiencing a tourism bump as of late, with nearly half of those tourists coming from the U.S. as of January, the Associated Press reported.

There were 182,815 COVID-19 deaths in Mexico, compared to 505,944 deaths in the U.S. as of Thursday, according to data from John’s Hopkins University.