MEXICO CITY (AP) – Authorities in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula complained Friday about tourists not wearing a face mask as Mexico braces for a wave of Easter week visitors.
The acting police chief of the Caribbean coastal state of Quintana Roo patrolled the streets of the seaside town of Tulum, reminding people to wear their masks and complaining about how few people did.
“It is regrettable to see how undisciplined things have become,” said Lucio Hernández Gutiérrez. “It was really frustrating to see hundreds of people walking around without a face mask,” noting that tourists were the worst offenders.
“It’s really embarrassing that we have to get to this point, to ask people to (wear masks), when we need to be aware of the risks we’re facing,” he said.
Federal authorities have decided to close the ruins of Chichén Itzá Maya in the neighboring state of Yucatan from April 1-4 to prevent the possible spread of the coronavirus. The sprawling temple complex is Mexico’s second most visited archaeological site, typically drawing about 1.8 million visitors each year.
And for the second year in a row, Mexico City’s most famous reenactment of the crucifixion of Christ in Latin America is being held without spectators in Mexico City. Instead, the multi-day ceremony is broadcast,
The spectacle drew about 2 million spectators in recent years, but authorities said such large crowds would be too risky during the pandemic.
The detailed performance has been set in Iztapalapa district since 1843, but was closed to the public for the first time in 177 years in 2020 due to the virus. It was first performed in 1843 after a cholera outbreak threatened the then rural hamlet.