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05/03/09
Quintana Roo Travel Update, Report 1st Case of A(H1N1) in Chetumal, Q.R.
Filed under: Cancun Tourism, Island Sounds, Cancun Swine Flu/AH1N1
Posted by: Dangers @ 11:00 pm

(Updated : 05/03/09, 23:00 EST)

Breaking News…

First case of Influenza A(H1N1) confirmed in Chetumal, Quintana Roo by Mexican officials. Chetumal is located some 241 miles south of Cancun and is the capital of the state of Quintana Roo. The city is home to an estimated population of 140,000.
http://www.chetumail.com/?c=120&a=5584

(Updated: 05/03/09, 14:00 EST)

The stranglehold of fear continues to hold Cancun hostage in this swine flu A(H1N1) scare as Cancun, Mexico, still without any confirmed cases of the swine flu variant spends another day in the fog of doubt. Cancun and her neighbors in the State of Quintana Roo are being marooned by the world at large as each day more and more vacationers cancel out of fear, their plans to visit the Jewel of the Mexican Caribbean, and have no doubt about it, as Cancun goes, is as the rest of the Mexican Caribbean goes, even if the local folks are sometimes loathe to admit it.

Currently Cancun is officially in Day 2 (editor’s note, now Day 3 w/updates) of the swine flu siege under the self imposed rule of government handed down earlier in the week from Federal officials in Mexico City. In reality, Cancun and her sister resorts have been stung since the onset of the swine flu outbreaks and subsequent scares, hotel occupancy is down, air passenger travel is down and the many tourist based and non tourist based venues have been forced to close including the history of the Maya, the magnificent Chichen Itza, along with Tulum and Coba, the archaeological bell weathers that have survived 2000 years of hurricanes, war, disease and man’s stupidity to man.

(Forum by the Sea Mall, Cancun:Courtesy of Por Esto)

As such, here’s what we have for you from the traveler’s perspective as of today in Cancun;

Despite the Federal Government mandate regarding the shut down of non essential services in the private and public sector many businesses remain open. What hasn’t been reported widely is that the Mexican Government took advantage of a long holiday weekend to apply these measures where in many cases, businesses and schools would have been closed or operating under holiday hours.
May 1: Labor Day
May 3: Day of the Holy Cross ( religious holiday)
May 5: Cinco de Mayo


(Swine Flu Confirmed Cases 473 with 19 fatalities, Courtesy of Sipse.com/ Editor’s Update: The WHO announced today the count is now 506 cases w/19 deaths in Mexico, in the U.S. there is 226 cases w/ one death in 18 states, in addition, there is confirmed cases worldwide in 16 other countries.)

1) Under Federal mandate; all non essential business has been curtailed or closed outright with many notable exceptions until May 5, 2009.

2) All archaeological sites have been closed until at least May 6, 2009, further reports indicate that after being requested by the Federal Government to close indefinitely, the request may be rescinded and the sites reopened early.

3) All Schools are closed temporarily.

4) Many restaurants, bars, clubs and retail areas, especially food service and suppliers remain open, most with limited hours. There’s reports that the large indoor nightclubs have either limited occupancy available or have closed temporarily.

5) Shopping Malls are open though large anchor type stores are reported closed in some shopping centers and hours are limited.

6)Hotels in the Cancun Hotel Zone are still operating though due to cancellations and limited business many are closing off sections, floors and either furloughing via vacations or laying off employees. In some cases, the chain style hotels are consolidating resorts by moving guests to one resort that were scheduled for stays at another sister resort, the sister resorts adversely effected will operate with minimal staffing and depending on the length of the swine flu situation, potentially close in the interim. The hotel, the Oasis Viva Beach, will close but it was noted that this had been a planned closing for renovations.

There’s reports, yet unconfirmed, that guests at the Riu Caribe are being switched to other sister resorts, guests at the Melia owned “ME” are being switched to the Gran Melia and that Dreams Cancun is operating at 25% but remains open. We’ve also seen a report of Cancun Club Med scaling back operations but remaining open. As this situation continues, we would expect more resort consolidations by the resorts with the ability to do so in the Hotel Zone.

7) The Eco-Parks, Xcaret and Xel Ha remain open.

8) Marinas remain open.

9) Many of the International Airlines including the U.S. are consolidating or in some cases canceling flights, if you have flight plans, contact your airline representatives.

10) Some large scale tour operators, notably in the UK, have canceled flights and trips to Mexico in the near future, once again contact your tour representatives.

11) The Cancun International Airport is open.

(Courtesy of Por Esto)
12) Air passengers are being checked with health prevention equipment that is basically a quick body temperature check and are being asked to fill out two health questionnaires.

13) Passengers are subject to health review on both arrival and departures.

14) Downtown Cancun is alive with the sights and sounds of modern day Mexico with many of the locals out and about enjoying the weekend, even if some businesses have limited hours or have closed.

15) Further reports indicate that public beaches are open and remaining tourists and locals alike are utilizing them.

16) The marinas remain open providing transportation to and from Isla Mujeres where thermal checks may be applied to those arriving and leaving the Isla.

17) Public transportation remains available.

18) Most public outdoor bars and clubs remain open with limited occupancy while some indoor clubs have either limited occupancy and hours or have closed.

19) In Playa del Carmen, beaches are open, shops, restaurants and bars also remain open along Fifth Avenue in most cases under applicable new rules regarding occupancy.

20) There’s reports of the nightclubs and the “adult” clubs being required to close in PDC but no confirmation.

21) Marooned on Isla Holbox: a press report indicates that residents and tourists alike have been refused to enter or exit Isla Holbox and that the Mexican Government has basically locked down transportation to the Isla in an attempt to assure containment to the Isla from exposure to swine flu. http://www.diariodenavarra.es/20090503/navarra/no-nos-permiten-salir-isla-holbox-temor-gripe-a.html?not=2009050301195912&idnot=2009050301195912&dia=20090503&seccion=navarra&seccion2=sociedad&chnl=10&ph=101

22) The body of a woman, age unknown, estimated to be 30 years of age was found dead, at Playa Delphines in the Hotel Zone, adjacent to the area of the Hilton Hotel, at KM17.5. Police were alerted by a taxi driver who saw the body in the surf, in what was originally suspected as a drowning, however, police are now treating this as a homicide. The woman appears to be a foreigner and possibly a tourist, police are investigating. http://www.dqr.com.mx/index.php/Benito-Juarez/Nota-RojaBJ/Golpean-y-ahogan-a-una-femina.html

23) The WHO is continuing to state that there is no rationale for international travel restrictions, stating that it is ineffective in halting the movement of the virus. http://www.who.int/en/

24) In Cozumel, 21 Cruise Ships have canceled their ports of call on the island over the last two weeks. Hotels are also reporting steep declines as are other tourism related businesses. Layoffs of temporary workers and reduced hours are being reported by the Cozumel Hotel Association President due to estimated occupancies at resorts of 35%. Cozumel receives an estimated 90-95% of its annual revenues from the cruise trade and related business. http://www.sipse.com/nota.php?id=35448

Please keep in mind that things can and are at times changing rapidly on the ground, what we’re attempting to provide you here are tips for travel and reminders that things aren’t operating under normal conditions. The greater Cancun area is starting to suffer economically from the lack of visitors, much of it due to cancellations of previous reservations and tour operators temporarily ceasing operations for their clients in the region. If you are scheduled for travel to Cancun, confirm your arrangements, and go and enjoy your vacation, should you desire.

Also, once again, there are as of this date, no confirmed cases of swine flu A(H1N1) influenza in Cancun, though there’s still potential cases being tested and one suspected case is of a sixty four year old whom died while showing signs of influenza style related complications. All suspected cases to date have tested negative for the A(H1N1) strain variant of influenza in Cancun.

If you’ve already been Marooned in Cancun, enjoy the vacation.

We’ll leave you once again, with a terrific music video, featuring music by the rock band Pink Floyd, Marooned, with great island footage and of course that beautiful, aqua hued, island water. Just click the music video center arrow and let play, please feel free to peruse our blog while listening.


Dangers…

11 Responses to “Quintana Roo Travel Update, Report 1st Case of A(H1N1) in Chetumal, Q.R.”

  1. Rob Barham Says:
    Thanks for all the updates from Cancun. Flights from the UK were cancelled by UK tour operators because the UK government changed it’s travel advice for “Mexico” to: “avoid all but essential travel”.
  2. Dangers Says:
    Rob~ you’re welcome, and thanks for stopping by with the word from the UK, appreciate it. ;-)
  3. JC Says:
    Thanks to the swine flu we are enjoying the best vacation in Cancun ever. The hotel is like our house, restaurants are empty, you don’t need reservationsfor anything. We came from tabasco with our carm, so we don’t have the air traveling issue. It was a good decision to come and spend a few days here, probably we will never see and enjoy Cancun like this time ever again.
  4. cheeseman525 Says:
    Thanks Dangers.. interestingly we’re scheduled for the Riu Caribe, so wondering if your sources have anything further on the relocating guests for efficiency, etc? We’re scheduled to arrive 5/9, and have until 5/8 to re book.. we’re reluctant to rebook b/c of the hype, but the uncertainty of it all is unsettling at best..
  5. Greg Says:
    Thanks for all the info and updates, got your site from Canuck in Cancun. I live in south Louisiana and there are 7 confirmed cases of H1N1 in Lafayette. Hopefully this will be contained, it was at a private school. I am planning on bringing my family of 8 to Cancun in 23 days and counting, this will be our 3rd trip. Hopefully things will be a bit better. Looking forward to seeing Cancun again. Will check your site as the days go by.
  6. Dangers Says:
    JC~ sounds like a great way to see area, Cancun can be very charming when she’s slow, thanks for taking time out to stop in and have a great trip. ;-)
  7. Dangers Says:
    Cheeseman525~ here’s my suggestion regarding the Riu, if they switch out hotels, it’s likely you’ll be upgraded to the Riu Cancun or Riu Palace, preferably the Palace…JMO, but I’d be in “go” mode. ;-)
  8. Dangers Says:
    Greg~ Greetings to Louisiana! Thanks for dropping in and I look forward to you visiting the blog…and that CancunCanuck is something else, one of the best bloggers around IMHO. Have a safe trip and enjoy! ;-)
  9. JC Says:
    MMMMM back to work now… we spent 5 peaceful and beautiful days thanks to the piggies jeje… Anyone out there with the opportunity to visit Cancun now and looking for a quiet time, what are you waiting for….?
  10. Lizbeth Says:
    Hey there, Just got back from Cancun Thursday (14th), first visit, beautiful. I’d been reading your blog which I found through Cancuck in Cancun’s blog, prior to going. I came across this post in the weeks before my trip and was able to access the link to the news story about the ‘woman on dolphin beach’, but now, mysteriously, I can’t find anything about the story, anywhere. Any updates? I imagine Diario de Quintana Roo pulled the story and the photo bc Cancun has enough bad press with the flu. I was curious why you posted the story, what happened to the woman and how often stories like that go untold? Having lived on a small island growing up I have a certain knowledge of how things need to work for tourists. Our jail was a lovely white colonial building, with fresh landscaping and curtains in the windows to hide the bars. Either way, great blog.
  11. Dangers Says:
    Liz~ thanks for the kind words and for following Cancun Casa, we’re also glad you enjoyed your visit to Cancun. The story you’re referencing is still under investigation by Cancun authorities but the woman found in the area near Playa Delphines has been identified as an Argentine Ex-Pat, 53 y/o, who had been living in Cancun with a friend since September of 2008. Apparently based on press accounts, she was recently unemployed after working in the area. The police are looking at this case as either a suicide or possible homicide though local reports indicate the woman may have been dispondent, suffering from emotional distress and had told her children that if she was going to die, she wanted it to be via the sea. The update to this story will likely appear in a future blog as more info is available. From the Cancun Casa side, we covered the article because it was potentially news worthy within the tourist zone as she was originally reported to have been a tourist and Playa Delphines is located at a popular area for locals and tourists alike. At Cancun Casa we cover stories we believe that will be of interest to visitors and locals alike when we can. While we certainly could be considered a vehicle that often promotes Cancun based on our preferences, we will also blog about the negative side when we deem it newsworthy or of interest. Cancun is a city of upwards of 600,000 people and the State of Quintana Roo in the area of 1 million, similar to any major city, there’s issues common to the human social condition. Here at CancunCasa, we attempt to focus on those that involve tourism and local issues regarding such but don’t limit ourselves to either. Thanks for your comments and we hope you’ll keep tracking CancunCasa as part of your weekly readings. ;-)