Masks in Mexico

 

"Cover the mouth and nose with a mask."

When I left Ohio in early April I was one of the few that were still wearing a mask when I would go into a store.  Now a judge has stricken the mask mandate for air travelers.

But here in Mexico, facemasks are still very much a part of the scene.  On March 7th, a month before my arrival in Mexico, the "COVID traffic light" used by the Secretariat of Health was lowered to GREEN in Mexico City, the lowest warning level.  The wearing of masks outdoors was now optional, but masks were still mandatory for entering all public buildings and on all public transport.

The official statistics issued by the Secretariat of Health must be taken with a very large grain of salt, but the number of cases has dropped dramatically since the height of the Omicron surge in January.  On April 6th, the day before my departure, there were 4,223 new cases reported in the entire nation of Mexico.  But then on April 7th, the number jumped to 12,144. and then on April 8th exploded to 32,216.  Alejandro was concerned that another surge was beginning.  However the number of cases then dropped down to where they had been before.  The seven-day average for Mexico is currently at 4619 new infections... a number which puts the nation at 50th place in the world.  (The U.S. is at number 7 and showed a 12% increase in cases during the last week.)

In spite of the lower numbers, Mexicans are wearing masks much, much more than people in the U.S.  In some areas of Mexico City, it seems than the number of people using masks outdoors has fallen to around one third or less, but in other areas, such as the "colonia" where my apartment is located, the number of people masked on the street is way over 50%.  Indoors and on public transportation, very few people are disregarding the rules.  

I have not heard whether or not masks are still required on international flights, but I intend to wear my N-95 on my journey home next month.  And if anyone makes a snide comment about it, I will say, "Explain to me how that is any of your business."