Today Monday April 20, 3030, Cancun, one of the main tourist destinations in the country, turns 50. However, in a sad, empty environment, due to the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic.
For the celebration more than 300 scheduled events, had to be canceled or postponed due to the speed Covid-19 has spread among the local population.
In Cancun, where phase 3 health measures are being taken right now, 16 deaths from coronavirus have already been registered, and 223 positive cases. Statewide, Quintana Roo registers 32 deaths and 317 infected patients.
The uncertainty generated by the tourism paralysis, the massive layoffs and the salary cuts, added to the confinement that prevents informal merchants, freelancers, entrepreneurs and people who receive income from daily jobs, has depressed its inhabitants.
Hotels, bars, nightclubs and discotheques are closed.
Cancun has 190 hotels and 37,335 rooms, but from March to April 15th, 102 lodging centers have been temporarily closed, which is equivalent to 29,505 empty rooms.
There are less than one thousand stranded tourists who are staying in downtown hotels. In the case of food & drink, more than 95% of the local restaurants have closed, an the remaining 5% operate through home delivery only.
The nautical and sport fishing sectors are totally shut down since April 1st.
The bars, casinos, nightclubs and discotheques closed as of March 13, imply the total paralysis of the tourist activity that supports more than 800 thousand inhabitants in the city.
Source: The Riviera Maya Times
