We were so happy arriving in Cabo to hear that COVID-19 seemed to be under control here. By the beginning of October, the number of infections and deaths had gone down 45% and the state health department approved reducing the risk warning from “very high” to “medium”. This meant that all non-essential activities were able to re-open and the maximum capacity allowed in beaches, hotels, restaurants, gyms, and stores was able to increase from 40% to 50%.
Here in Cabo, you cannot enter a business without having your temperature checked, hand sanitizer squirted into your hands, and you absolutely must wear a face mask. It is mandatory everywhere here. And what we found interesting is that no one seems to have a problem with it. Everyone participates and it has simply become a way of life. Everyone wants to keep the case numbers down so they can carry on with life as they know it.
They also have developed a new health and safety protocol called “Los Cabos – A Safer Way to Get Away”. This new system implemented strict health and safety protocols for the airport, transportation, accommodations, restaurants, bars, tourist activities and the beaches. These efforts have ensured the well-being not only of visitors, but also of our local community. So for now, the measures put into place seem to be working, however 2020 has shown us we cannot let our guard down as things can always change at a moments notice.
Before we moved, it seemed everyone back home was doing their part to keep the case numbers low, and around July it seemed we had “flattened the curve”. And because of that, we were able to get the ball rolling to make our move to Cabo San Lucas.
We keep up with the BC news from here and noticed that the number of new cases is on the rise again. Seems that almost 8,000 new cases were added in the three months from the end of July to the end of October and seems to still be increasing. In fact the projections seem to show that by the end of November, BC could easily be seeing 1000+ new cases per day!
So what happened? Why does it seem that Cabo is currently winning the battle against COVID-19 and BC and even the rest of Canada is not? Maybe it comes down to attitudes of entitlement and privilege.
Reading various news articles and Facebook posts it seems that many people in Canada (and the USA) are tired of COVID and feel that since they missed out on so much this year already, that they deserve to have a “break”. They feel that they should be allowed to hold parties or celebrate holidays or occasions as usual because they deserve to, or think doing it only this once won’t really matter.
Others feel that everyone should just do what they feel comfortable doing, like wear a mask if you want, or don’t wear one if you don’t want to. Everyone seems to have different opinions as to what should be done or what rules should be followed, saying those who want to go out and about should be able to, and those who want to remain in lockdown should be able to. However, everyone having their own opinion does not seem to be solving the problem.
I completely agree that 2020 has been the craziest year ever and I also wished so much that we could have taken a break from COVID too. Our family had so many things to celebrate this year, but that didn’t mean we could ignore the restrictions that had been put into place and simply do what we want.
In August, Ryan turned 30 and I turned 60. In September I retired from work, and shortly after Lorne and I moved to another country. All these things should have been celebrated as big events, with all our family and friends together, but because of COVID the celebrations instead came as Zoom meetings and Facebook greetings. It was so hard for us not to be able to gather everyone one last time for a big party before we moved to Mexico. Instead, we had to say quick goodbyes to our kids, and we were off. As sad as it was, we felt we had to follow the rules and do our part.
Even here, we are also trying to take precautions, venturing out only as necessary to get the things we need. People have been asking if we are spending our days at the beach, but not counting the fact Lorne works all day, the beaches are currently limited to 50% capacity and at this time, only ten beaches in the area are available for use.
Cabo is open and receiving visitors again so for now, we will stay away so the tourists can enjoy the beaches. After all, the main economic activity in Cabo is tourism and in order for the economy to recover from COVID, we need those tourist dollars to come.
We are hoping every day that the people of BC (and the rest of Canada) will be able to flatten that curve again, so our family and friends might be able to come to Cabo to enjoy the beaches and our wonderful sunshine.
Everyone needs to do their part, and everyone needs to work together to make it happen. It can be done; we are seeing it happen here in Cabo.
“After all, the main economic activity in Cabo is tourism and in order for the economy to recover from COVID, we need those tourist dollars to come.”
Such nice words which prove that you have become true “Cabonians” ! BTW, what is the correct term ?
It actually took us a while to find out what the correct term is. Apparently it’s “Cabeño”. Glad you asked, as it’s good to know these things!