Tourists stand at a beach after local authorities imposed strict sanitary measures to gradually reopen despite the coronavirus disease pandemic, in Cancun, Mexico June 11, 2020.
On the other hand, despite the pandemic, flights are often crowded, even hotels in Mexico that bend over backwards to disinfect everything have little capacity to actually test their employees, and while fellow guests are likely to be few and far between, they also probably won't be wearing masks. The Moon Palace staff, however, kept their face masks on. With only about 300 tourists on beaches that can hold thousands, it seemed a good place to practice social distancing.
The situation is so desperate that Mexico's tourism secretary proposed making the industry one of Mexico's “essential activities,” so that it could reopen just as the construction, mining and automotive industries have already started to do. But federal health officials were less enthusiastic, noting that tourism implied travel, crowds and being outdoors.
But then beach vendors, waiters and musicians who had lost work were added and the list swelled to 50,000; and the local government increased food packages and all available official vehicles were recruited for distribution.