Mexico keeps its borders open as covid situation worsens

Tuesday, January 18, 2022

For the Holland America cruise liner, things were looking bad as it glided up Mexico’s Pacific coast just before New Year’s Day. For the coronavirus, about twenty-eight crew members had been tested positive. Two of the ports of the country had rejected to allow the ship to enter.

After that incident they reached the seaside city of Guaymas. There they were received with a warm welcome from the government. Mexico has declared tourists should be permitted to get on board from such ships, with quarantine or medical care for those with signs of infection. “Our country maintains its policy of solidarity,” the government said in a statement.

Many countries imposed bans on flights, cruise ships and border crossings anxiously as the coronavirus swept the world. However, only Mexico has stayed open from the beginning. Radically open. In majority of Mexico states, new arrivals are not required to show proof of vaccination or negative coronavirus tests, or to quarantine. The United States slapped a temporary ban on visitors from eight African countries when the omicron variant was detected for the first time. Mexico didn’t stop a single flight.

As per government estimation, covid-19 has caused more than 450,000 deaths. On tourism, Mexico has tens of millions of dependent people. It shares the world’s busiest land border.

With omicron taking off, it’s one of many nations asking: How much can you seal yourself off?

“You have to make these impossible choices almost — is it your economy or public health?” said Kelley Lee, a global health scholar at Canada’s Simon Fraser University. Countries that imposed strict testing and quarantine requirements have clearly done better at limiting covid-19 outbreaks, she said. “The challenge is most governments aren’t willing to go that route. There are costs, real economic costs, political costs, social costs.”

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