[tom-lindsay]

We just got back after spending some time in Loreto, La Paz and Todos Santos and while some places we went to posted masks as mandatory, actual compliance was at most 50% I’d guess while the majority of restaurants, bars and stores just “suggesting” wearing masks. Just about everywhere suggests social distancing and offer hand gel, many establishments offer temp measurements too.

Overall, mask wearing seemed to be about 30-40% it seemed like.

These are the latest stats posted by the BCS government:

https://coronavirus.bcs.gob.mx/casos-covid-19/

[pauldavidmena]

Thank you for the reply. Masking was mandatory when we visited this past February, but I realize the restrictions were eased later on. At the time we also had to have a negative test result within 48 hours of our return flight. Masking was also required on the planes and in the airports, which we know isn’t the case today.

[sawdogger]

Is Mexico asking for your Vax card if you fly in?

[pauldavidmena]

And here’s a follow-up question: if proof of vaccination is required, can it be digital?

[cabodream]

No proof of vaccination required currently by Mexico.

[sawdogger]

Thanks

[cabodream]

As of a couple of days ago, (got here to Cabo on Christmas Eve) no proof of vaccination was being asked for on arrival although they did a temperature check when I got off the plane – not sure if that is on all flights or random. Last time I flew back into the US in early December only non-citizens or non-legal residents were asked for proof of vaccination to be allowed into the US.

[cabodream]

And I am really sorry to hear about Tito but glad you made the decision to put him first. I wish more people did.

[pauldavidmena]

Thank you for the kind words. Tito meant the world to us – we would have never left him with a caretaker knowing how aggressive and unpredictable the cancer (hemangiosarcoma) was. As it is, we never left him alone for the last 3 precious months of his life. We’re honestly feeling a bit guilty about traveling even now that he’s gone, but we really need to de-stress, preferably in a warmer place than Cape Cod in February.

[cabodream]

In my lifetime we have had to say goodbye to several 4 footed members of our family and it never gets easier but long ago we started a tradition where we would keep their collar along with a lock of their fur. We store those in a small chest along with a photo album of some of their best photos and some of their favorite toys. We often open it and go through it all to remember them, helping to keep their memory alive.

And we both still cry, every single time.

[cabodream]

Baja, especially along the southern Sea of Cortez and southern tip is probably one of the best places on the planet to spend winters in the Northern Hemisphere,

[boe4fun]

This is a little dated, but we spent Thanksgiving week with our entire immediate family in Cabo. No masking, never asked for proof of vacs. My wife and I ended up with covid. This after two initial vaccinations and three boosters, along with a flu shot. We both were prescribed paxlovid. Post covid treatment I came down with bronchitis/walking pneumonia which I think is related to my immune system being compromised by the covid. So in retrospect I would recommend wearing a mask.

• This reply was modified 1 year, 8 months ago by  boe4fun.

[BajaGringo]

Ouch! Glad to hear that’s in the rear view mirror…

[BajaGringo]

So sorry to hear about Tito amigo, it always hurts but I found that it helps me to keep photos of them on my phone background to remind me of all the good times we shared.

Currently there are no COVID VAX entry requirements at any of the airports of Mexico but I hear a few places in BCS are now requiring masks. Cristina and I still wear masks when we are in a high people density environment.

Safe travels…

[boe4fun]

Sasha was a rescue pup that lived in our front yard for weeks before we could convince her that we were her friends. Once that happened she was ours for keeps. She used to love running on the beach in Bahía Asunción with her tail rotating like it was a propeller. This is her photo on my iPhone.

[pauldavidmena]

What a sweet little dog!

[pauldavidmena]

This is the photo on my phone. It was from a few years ago, before his black eye patch started to turn gray. A few days ago I posted a tribute to him on my blog at https://pauldavidmena.wordpress.com/2022/12/26/tito/

[BajaGringo]

❤❤❤

[boe4fun]

Our Baja rescue kitty was named Pacifico because when Shari Bondy brought him to our 5th wheel trailer about 12 years ago at Campo Sirena she included a Pacifico cardboard box filled with beach sand, and Shelley happened to be drinking a Pacifico at the time. The poor cat was covered with fleas and ear mites, but we had pet shampoo for Sasha (previously mentioned). Anyway, we had him for about 11 years before he passed, and Sasha had been gone for a few years. So on our way home from Baja 3 years ago we picked up our new addition, Coronita (Corrie), an 8 pound party poodle. She was able to spend quite a while with Pacifico and they became fast friends. I’ll try to post a video of them playing.

[boe4fun]

<div>Pacifico and Corrie</div><div>
</div>https://share.icloud.com/photos/043pUrBV7wvwy6coUkWb3DiFA

[wrench]

One of my riding buddies just got back from a trip to La Paz and Cabo and he said that while he was there, they upped the alert and it’s now mandated that that face masks are now required for enclosed spaces. He said that while it’s posted in most places now, the enforcement and compliance varied.

[pauldavidmena]

Thanks for the feedback! We’ll keep that in mind and will bring plenty of masks with us.

[coyote]

We spent New Years in La Paz and while the mask requirement was posted in most indoor establishments, the enforcement was pretty lax in most places that I observed.

[pauldavidmena]

I’m not sure if I made it clear, but we made the decision about a week ago to travel to Baja (Todos Santos in BCS, to be exact) for the first week of February (and the Todos Santos Open Studio Tour). I blogged about it at https://dreamsofpescadero.wordpress.com/2023/01/08/act-two/. Needless to say, we are keeping our eyes and ears open for travel guidance with regard to masking, testing, etc.

[cabodream]

I haven’t heard anything on mandatory testing lately but just to be safe, we always carry face masks and gel with us whenever we leave the house these days, wherever we are.

[pauldavidmena]

There’s been no rush to mask up here on Cape Cod, but my wife and I are trying to be careful lest we endanger our upcoming trip. We’ll probably wear masks on the plane (and perhaps the airport) regardless of what others do, and will bring extra masks with us for use in Baja as needed.

[gregj]

I am so sick of these mandates and wish we could just get back to normal.

[nashsimpson]

Me too – everybody does but to ignore the science is to risk much more than just inconvenience. A couple of days ago another well well known anti-vaxxer died from COVID.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/qanon-star-cirsten-weldon-who-said-only-idiots-get-vaccinated-dies-of-covid

[Dorado]

This was just posted today saying that Los Cabos has ended the COVID restrictions:

https://thecabosun.com/los-cabos-bars-and-clubs-no-longer-forced-to-close-early/

[gregj]

Awesome! Thanks for sharing that.

[Dorado]

Let’s keep our fingers crossed it stays that way.

[Volcan]

@pauldavidmena If I am reading this article correctly that just came out today, it reports that while COVID cases are increasing in many parts of Mexico, Baja California Sur is one of the regions that is trending down = fewer reported infections.

Let’s hope that trend continues.

https://www.revistapuntodevista.com.mx/seccion/mexico/por-tercera-semana-consecutiva-se-rebasan-los-30-mil-casos-de-covid/818475/

[pauldavidmena]

That’s definitely good news! One would hope that any new infections brought on by family visits during the holidays have peaked by now. Incidentally we’re seeing a similar pattern here on Cape Cod, where schools have been open for just over a week with only a slight increase in absences.

In related news, I’ve had a runny nose for the past week and decided to test myself yesterday. Fortunately it was negative – and I hope it stays that way!

[MikeyD]

My neighbor works in a pharmacy at Walgreens and tells me that there is a really nasty flu bug going around that has people freaking out that they have COVID. Best to test and make sure you don’t. Hope your vacation travels proceed as planned and with no problems.

[pauldavidmena]

Quite a few of my co-workers have been out with non-COVID illnesses. When I had COVID in September my only symptoms were a runny nose and a nagging cough. Needless to say, when my nose started running a week or so ago, I tested myself. We’ll test again before we leave, and of course when we return. Thankfully the home testing kits are free again (since last month).

[trekker]

Where do you get the free test kits?

[pauldavidmena]

I ordered mine yesterday at https://www.covid.gov/tests. They’re delivered by the U.S. Postal Service.

[mikel]

Cool!

[wrench]

Thanks Paul

[bajatraveler]

I monitor this webpage for trends to help me decide when/where to travel to.

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/weekly-trends/

[DB-Baja]

UNAM of Mexico has a good website with the latest detailed info on COVID in Mexico – hopefully you speak/read enough Spanish to understand:

https://covid19.ciga.unam.mx

[Volcan]

Thanks for that link

[pauldavidmena]

My Spanish is “intermediate”, but with the visuals and context the data are easy to understand. Thank you for this link.

[miraflores]

I am fully vaccinated with all the boosters but because of my age and health conditions, I continue to wear a face mask when outside of my home with other people around me inside of indoor spaces.

Here is what the World health Organization is currently recommending:

• The World Health Organization (WHO) said that individuals should wear masks in certain situations irrespective of the local spread of COVID-19 given the current spread of the virus worldwide.
• Masks are recommended if one has had recent exposure to COVID, when someone has or suspects they have the virus, when someone is at high risk of developing severe COVID, and when in a crowded space.

[mikel]

We do too. We figure it not only helps increase our chances of avoid catching COVID but general cold and flu bugs as well.

[cabodream]

Same with us too – we actually avoided catching a flu bug so far this season, something I’m quite prone to.

[Dorado]

I am not an isolationist by nature but looking at the way China continues to battle with COVID, maybe we should just build a wall around the country. Oh, wait – there already is one. So maybe figure out some way to increase the check protocols on people traveling from China then?

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/china/

[DB-Baja]

And that’s with their extreme lockdown measures I heard they have been enforcing. Is it just infections or are deaths spiking too?

[DB-Baja]

Just answered my own question, taking a look at the website you linked to. So it appears that while new cases are spiking, new deaths from COVID are relatively stable. Wonder if this particular variant isn’t as lethal or are we getting better at treating COVID? That would be interesting information to know.

[gregj]

Looks to me by those graphs that either this latest mutation has no bite or everybody in China is vaccinated at this point.

[BajaGringo]

I recall seeing something in print at some point in the last 12 months saying that China was the most vaccinated nation on the planet per capita.