Southern Quintana Roo will ease coronavirus restrictions as it moves from red to orange on the federal government’s coronavirus “stoplight” map next week, Governor Carlos Joaquín González announced.

The region had moved back to “red light” restrictions last month due to an increased number of cases and higher hospital occupancy.

The municipalities of Othón P. Blanco, Bacalar, José María Morelos and Felipe Carrillo Puerto, which had been at the maximum risk level, hotels restaurants, shopping centers and department stores will now be allowed to open at 30% capacity. Certain other businesses, including scientific, administrative and consulting firms, will be allowed to resume operations at 50% capacity.

In addition, the state government has launched an app called ReactivaQROO that allows residents to conduct business with government agencies via their mobile phone.

And provided that health conditions continue to improve, starting at the end of August the state’s 13 archaeological zones will begin to reopen, starting with Tulum, San Gervasio, Cobá and Muyil. 

Governor González stressed that the easing of restrictions and the cautious and responsible reboot of the economy is due to residents’ commitment to abide by prevention and health guidelines.

Quintana Roo’s death rate has been cut in half since the beginning of the pandemic, González said, and the public’s adherence to health protocols “gave us hope that even without a vaccine that would absolutely protect us, we could start the next phase,” he said.

The governor also noted that the northern part of the state may be able to move to a yellow risk level next week, which would mean a further easing of restrictions. He cautioned that the move should not be an opportunity to “throw caution to the wind,” but he believes that total lockdown in the state has become “a thing of the past.” 

“We reiterate that the strategy is to move in a gradual, orderly and responsible manner. Gradual, because leaving our homes to restart our economic activity implies that we must leave little by little, we cannot do everything at once,” he said. “If we leave home without having to do so, we are putting ourselves at serious risk. We are risking our family, the people we love the most and the entire community,” González warned.

As of Friday, 8,492 confirmed cases of the coronavirus had been reported in Quintana Roo, including 1,091 deaths caused by the disease.

Source: La Jornada (sp), Cambio 22 (sp), El Universal (sp), El Diario de Yucatán (sp)