Updated 1/6/2021 – Expat living with the coronavirus in Mexico is probably very similar to living with the coronavirus in any other part of the world. Some people are careful not to spread the disease, some people don’t care whether they spread it or not, and some people still don’t believe it’s real.
The coronavirus, or Covid-19, has swept the world including the country of Mexico. Vaccines are rolling out across the globe but so are new strains of the coronavirus, some more contagious than the original. Millions of vaccines, from several pharmaceutical companies, have been ordered to battle the coronavirus in Mexico. Here is the Mexican government’s current schedule for vaccinations:
- Medical workers on the first line of combat vaccinated by February 2021
- Remaining medical workers and persons over age 60 vaccinated by April 2021
- Persons from age 50-59 vaccinated by May 2021
- Persons from age 40-49 vaccinated by June 2021
- And the rest of the population vaccinated by March 2022
How is Mexico Coping? The Good.
The government has set guidelines for the coronavirus in Mexico. In many places, you can see precautions being taken and they are much appreciated. Some of these precautions include:
- Face masks are required when interacting with people outside your home.
- Everyone is in quarantine, so unless you have a good reason to leave your home, don’t. Stay home.
- Those over age 60 have their own shopping hour, early in the morning when few people are out and about.
- Grocery stores and retail stores are limiting entrance to one family member and no children.
- Shopping carts are being disinfected at all the big stores, like Sams, Walmart, and Home Depot.
- Hand gel is required before entering many places and even before using some atm machines.
- A few places even have a sanitizing solution for you to wipe your feet at the front door.
- There is a two-meter distance rule between all persons.
- Social interactions like kissing, hugging, or shaking hands are not permitted.
How is Mexico Coping? The Bad.
The stores I mentioned above as well as a few local businesses are the only places that seem safe with the coronavirus in Mexico. I say “seem safe” because I really don’t know. I can only write about what I see. Here are some examples of what I have seen and I personally view as NOT safe in our city of Uruapan, Michoacan:
- Extremely long and congested lines outside of local banks.
- Crowded outdoor markets or tianguis are still open.
- People crowding into a small doctor’s office.
- Fifteen people in the waiting room of a medical laboratory… And only five wore masks!
- Restaurants open and seating individuals.
- Restaurants preparing and serving food for take-out without masks or gloves.
- A young mother trying to enter Walmart with her toddler son, both without masks.
- Families crowded around the entrances of stores waiting for the one family member that went inside.
- Food carts serving food to groups of people standing close together.
- Fiestas and gatherings of large groups solo for enjoyment without any protection.
What Comes After The Coronavirus for Mexico?
I don’t know but I can’t envision it being good. I think the Mexican economy is going to take a big hit. Small business owners and low-income families will surely feel it the worst. We can see the US struggling to avoid a recession, but almost certainly failing. We recently received our second stimulus deposit but how many more of these can the government provide? Really the question may be, “What comes after the coronavirus for the world?”
I have hope for the future. I have hope for my family. If you want to learn what my hope is, visit www.jw.org.
In Conclusion…
Stay positive! And as a farewell gift, here is the recipe for our homemade sanitizer. Brad’s doctor gave it to us before this pandemic really hit big. We use it on our hands, our shoes, kitchen countertops, our dining room table, and you can use it on a lot of other things too! But I would recommend testing it on a small patch before spraying down anything super important or fragile.
UPDATE: This recipe is our personal recipe. I don’t know its effectiveness against Covid-19. But so far so good, at least in our home ;-) You can visit the CDC or WHO for their recommendations if you have concerns or questions.
Homemade Sanitizer
3 parts rubbing alcohol, (70 % isopropyl alcohol)
1 part white vinegar
Optional: Your favorite essential oils!
Take care peeps! Be safe wherever you are in the world :-) Signing off, Tina
Originally published May 13, 2020
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A ridiculous amount of coffee was consumed in the process of creating this project. Add some fuel if you'd like to keep me going ;-) Gracias!
This hand sanitizer will not be effective against Covid-19.. The percentage of alcohol needs to be at least 60 per cent, preferably 70 per cent in a hand sanitizer. Vodka is only 40 per cent alcohol and vinegar has no effect against this or any virus. Here’s a helpful article. https://www.consumerreports.org/cleaning/common-household-products-that-can-destroy-novel-coronavirus/
Yes its true about the vodka. I read it has to be over 70% alcohol and i read vinegar is no good. We mix vinegar, soap and a lee bit of bleach in a spray bottle to wash our counter tops and also our goods we purchase at stores when we come home. We r in Belize thankfully virus free for a month now so the government says. Hoping to move to Mexico when things clear up. Immigration too expensive here.
Anyways i really like your blog gringoslocos6 and love how you posted about the future. Paradise will soon be here. Take care friends.
That is great that Belize hasn’t been hit hard by this pandemic. I hope it stays that way! Thanks so much for reading the blog. I appreciate your kind comments. And just to clear things up, I updated my recipe above and clarified in the comments that the use of vodka would consist of a very high proof vodka. Vodka can go up to 95% alcohol depending on the brand.
Thanks for your concern! I don’t know why I mentioned vodka because we don’t use it! We use rubbing alcohol. I updated my recipe to reflect the ingredients we use as hand sanitizer.
As for vodka’s effectiveness, it depends on the percentage of alcohol. Most brands are about 40% but vodka can have up to 95% alcohol depending on the brand. This higher percentage would be more effective as a sanitizer.
In Acapulco the only lines I’ve seen are at the banks. The supermarkets here are empty. They take your temperature and you MUST before they let you in the door. Once inside they squirt sanitizer on your hands, and wipe down the cart handles. There are about half the amount of people in the markets. No sidewalk stalls. There are about 10 restaurants open, most of which have to-go and pick up only. 2small hotels are open. The hotel occupation is 2%! Some people aren’t wearing masks,i feel sorry for them. Acapulco will not be opening june 1st, this morning the governor said “possibly June 15th” I think Mexico is doa better job than the U.S. has done….
#StayHome,#QuedateEnCasa, Best of luck
That sounds great! It seems like Acapulco is handling things better than Uruapan. Thanks for commenting and good health to you as well!
You MUST wear a face mask
In Acapulco the only lines I’ve seen are at the banks. The supermarkets here are empty. They take your temperature and you MUST wear a face mask before they let you in the door. Once inside they squirt sanitizer on your hands, and wipe down the cart handles. There are about half the amount of people in the markets. No sidewalk stalls. There are about 10 restaurants open, most of which have to-go only or pick up only. 2small hotels are open. ALL BEACHES ARE CLOSED! The hotel occupation is 2%! Some people aren’t wearing masks,i feel sorry for them. Acapulco will not be opening june 1st, this morning the governor said “possibly June 15th” I think Mexico is doing a better job than the U.S. has done….
#StayHome,#QuedateEnCasa, Best of luck