Traveling in Mexico is safe during the coronavirus pandemic if one follows sanitary protocols established by the destination where one travels, says the United States ambassador to Mexico.

Christopher Landau told the newspaper El Financiero Wednesday during a culture and tourism event that he’s seen how seriously restaurants, hotels and other tourism-related businesses take Covid safety protocols and that it gives him confidence that tourists can continue safely traveling in Mexico.

“The most important thing is to stabilize the industry,” he said. “I have been able to determine firsthand that by following health protocols, it’s possible to go — it’s important to go. Mental health is an important part of overall health. One can’t be confined at home month after month after month.”

The ambassador’s opinion appears to stand in stark contrast to other U.S. government entities’ opinions about travel in Mexico, including the Department of State.

The U.S. agreed with the Mexican government in March to prohibit nonessential land border crossings in both directions, although the restriction does not apply to air travel. On September 8, the U.S. Department of State advised American citizens to reconsider travel to Mexico due to Covid-19 and has suspended routine consular and visa services due to Covid-19 since March 18. In late November, the United States Centers for Disease Control issued its highest level of advisory, warning against all travel to Mexico due to Covid.

Nevertheless, Landau insisted on the tourism potential of Mexico.

“I congratulate the tourism sector for its spirit of responsibility. I understand very well that if there are outbreaks associated with tourism, that is going to affect them a lot. What I have seen is that they are managing a very difficult situation quite well,” he said.

A Harvard Law School graduate who clerked for Associate Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas of the United States Supreme Court after graduating in 1989, Landau has served as a United States ambassador to Mexico since August 2019.

Source: El Financiero (sp)