EDIT: Just to note , both the government and the vast majority of the people here really are still trying with masks /hand sanitizer etc —it just seems some have been letting their guard down.
I still argue that mathematically Cozumel cannot survive without tourists until hopefully there is a vaccine early next year , so please come. Just wear masks , use sanitizer and don’t let your guard down
If you are going to argue against economic necessity , please tell me where around 1 to 1.5 million dollars per day in lost tourist revenue is supposed to come from That is my best guest in normal tourist revenue based on 4 million plus cruisers and 200k international tourists into CZM , plus who knows how many on ferry. I hate modern super-sized cruise ships , but going to zero overnight isn’t what I had in mind
I second these points, and these emotions. I've been on the island since July 4. The level of mask compliance that I have seen is very high, 95%+ most days, but they seem to come off pretty quick at the local public beaches. Other than that, what I've seen overall is a level of seriousness with regard to safety that significantly eclipses what we're doing in the states, at least in my region (east TN, southwest VA). Masks are mandatory everywhere and as soon as you hit the sidewalk, the taxis won't let you in without one. The restaurants won't let you take a mask off until you actually reach your table, and if you need to hit the restroom you have to put it back on even for that short walk. Each taxi has a bottle of hand sanitizer and they give you a dollop, and the drivers take one themselves, before you go anywhere. Temperature checks are done before you can enter most businesses, and you get another squeeze of hand sanitizer there as well. One person at a time into the Chedraui, no shopping with your spouse or significant other. And one thing here that I haven't seen anywhere at home - they're sanitizing people's shoes. You'll have a plastic doormat that's filled with some kind of bleach liquid or something, you have to step in it and then onto a towel that's on the floor beyond it. What that accomplishes I do not know, but I can't imagine there's a downside to it, so my shoes haven't been this sanitary since they came out of the box new.
The divers appear to be coming back in decent force already, my operator (ScubaLuis) was dead in the water until late June, after which he's picked up enough bookings to be busy every day the entire month of July and into August. We started diving July 5, very few boats that day but we noticed an increase every day after that. Still not back to what it used to be, but there's a definite uptick. Talked to a Dive Paradise boat captain today, he said they're doing "OK" but have decent reservations the rest of the month as well.
That said, this island has taken a Mike Tyson punch to the face and is HURTING BADLY. I've lost track of how many boarded up businesses in downtown, a lot of which look like they're closed for good. The 7-11 on Melgar, Los Palmeras restaurant (the one on Melgar right across from the passenger ferry, that's been there a long time), the carpet and rug store on Melgar down by Guidos - are just a few that come to mind right now, all are closed, furniture and fixtures gone, completely empty. The latest word on when the cruise ships will be back? Depending on who you believe, its either the end of September or the end of the year. The pain is going to continue for quite awhile unfortunately.
So if you're on the fence, I say come on down as well. Bring your hand sanitizer and a bunch of masks, and IMHO you're probably going to be safer here than you will be in the states for the reasons stated above, and this place needs some money in a very bad way. And I forgot to mention that there's enough restaurants open to keep things interesting as well, even if some of them are only open Wednesday or Thursday to Saturday. We've hit Buccanos, Thirsty Cougar, Casa Mission, and Rolandis so far.
Still on the fence? Maybe this will help - the reefs look OUTSTANDING, the best by far that I've ever seen them and I've been coming here at least twice a year for the past 15 years. Vibrant colors and healthy coral abound, from what I can tell even the brain coral appears to be healing from the SCTLD or whatever it is they've been fighting. Lots of life around too, we saw 5 nurse sharks within about 10 minutes on Yucab the other day.
My opinion only of course, your mileage may vary. If I run into anything else material to report, I'll post further.
