SOCIAL MEDIA

Monday, March 29, 2021

Mexico During the Pandemic

I want to recap our Mexico trip, but first I wanted to share with you what it was like being in Mexico during the pandemic. Where masks were required, occupancy limits, safety, etc.

And a picture of the girls in Mexico to brighten this post up!

Now this applies to the state of Jalisco which is where Puerto Vallarta is. When I read the rules, it said that most mandates had been lifted as of February 12th. I am not sure which rules they were referring to as PV mimicked the United States quite a bit with more checks.

Masks

We had to wear our masks in our condo building in all areas other than our condo and at the pool which is a roof top pool. We did not have to wear our masks on our condo patios either. We had to wear masks to enter into a shop or restaurant but could take the masks off when we were seated for food. If you had to go to the bathroom, you had to put your mask back on. 

Even though they sold fabric masks and we saw others wearing them, they encouraged everyone to use the disposable masks. We brought them so we could throw them away often (cutting the ear pieces first) as the girls tended to drop theirs numerous times.

We did not have to wear our masks while walking around outside nor at the beach.

Temperature Checks

This is one that I was not used to. Sure I get the temperature checks at doctor's offices, but we had a temperature check upon going into any restaurant whether it was an indoor or outdoor restaurant. Some restaurants used the infrared scanners (which I am sure are expensive) and some were just the touchless thermometers. 

We also got checked every time we entered into our condo building.

Hand Sanitizer

Before we entered into a restaurant or shop, we had to have a squirt of hand sanitizer. And our condo building gave us the option of the hand sanitizer or washing your hands.

Covid Tests

As you may have seen, but you have to have a negative Covid test before entering into the United States. This has to be done up to 72 hours prior to your plane departing. We did this on March 18th and our flight was March 20th. We were all negative thankfully.

Now to schedule your tests, many hotels offer it for free if you stay with them. Since we were not staying in a hotel, we had to schedule our own. Prior to leaving, I was on the Trip Advisor forums looking up all information on Puerto Vallarta during the pandemic and part of that was the Covid tests.

The US/Mexico relationship changed and allowed for us to get the antigen test instead of the PCR test which saved us a lot of money. You can try to get it covered by your insurance, but I declined to go that route since we got ours done for 650 pecos each or about $31 each. We just budgeted this into our plans and our money allotment.

Also, I recommend going on TripAdvisor and seeing how to set up your appointments ahead of time. I found a forum with an email address for someone in Puerto Vallarta through the hospital system. I emailed her about our interest and she emailed me back with all the information I needed to provide. I had to provide full names matching the passport, where we were staying, DOB, email address, date you want to be tested, and where we were flying back into to determine the type of test. I did this for all six of us and we got our appointments set up. 

We were also told that we could have waited until we were in Mexico and gone to one of the 4 testing places to schedule it when we arrived. I wanted to schedule ahead of time to make sure we were all taken care of prior to our vacation. No need to stress when you are on vacation about these things.

We were instructed to fast for two hours and bring in our passports. I wondered about the fasting for two hours, but when we took our test, we understood why. Now I am not sure if you have had a Covid test in the US. I have had two and they were nothing like this.

I went back with Avery and Rory went back with Sutton. My in-laws went back one by one by themselves. They have you sit down, put your head against the wall and then they stuck a brush like swab way up your nose. I know this is how they used to do it, but I am not sure if they used a brush like swab. They scrapped around and took cells from way up in your nose. They only did it on one side, but it hurt and was awful. Since I had surgery 3 times on my nose, this was awful. Avery and Sutton cried and Rory gagged. And when he said he gagged, we all knew why we were instructed to fast. They don't want you throwing up. 

We got our results within 2 hours and they were emailed to us. It included a QR code which we showed when we got to the airport to check in. We were not able to check in online the day before as you have to provide your negative test. 

So upon checking in, they scanned our QR codes and verified our negative results along with our passports and then we were able to obtain our boarding passes.

Social Distancing

We were told to social distance if you can at 1.5 meters. I feel like this was more of a suggestion than anything as when we went to the Farmer's Market Saturday morning, no one was social distancing. They didn't separate the tables much if at all in most restaurants. Some did take some tables out, but most were normal.

Capacity

I guess before February 12th, they had the capacity of restaurants and stores at 50%, but that was taken away. 

Other

Even though Mexico is a third world and developing country, we felt very safe in Puerto Vallarta. We did not feel that we were going to get Covid there. People and places take precautions and in some instances we felt they were even more controlled than in the United States.

Do you have any other questions on traveling to Mexico during the pandemic? What was your experience if you have been there since the pandemic started?

22 comments :

  1. I think it's great that they were taking so many precautions - i'm sure it made everyone feel better about traveling and finally being on vacation! xo, Biana BlovedBoston

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    1. It totally did. I felt safe and I felt they did more there than here in the US.

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  2. That test sounds like the one my husband had and he complained his nose hurt for the whole ride home! The only test I had was for my pre-op and it was a spit tube so no nastiness stuck in my nose though I did have to make sure I had no gum, candy, drinks, etc. for 30 minutes prior. So glad you got to go!

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    1. It was awful. We had cotton swab ones here in the US, but in Mexico it was like a brush. It definitely hurt. I wish I had the spit on in Mexico. I thought that was the one we were going to have, but nope. I am glad we got to go as well.

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  3. We do temp checks when the kids enter AWANA each Sunday night, but other than that and the doc office, we don't have them. I bet it made you feel a bit safer having all this done.

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    1. That is the same here. We really only do them at the doctor's office. The girls do get a temp check every morning when they go into school, but that is it. We definitely felt really safe and they took many precautions to help us feel better.

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  4. I know a lot of people can get aggravated with the extra steps - but those precautions are what keeps everyone safe - I like it. & you still get to enjoy a vacation, right? :) It'll be so interesting to see if your girls remember all this when they're older.

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    1. I totally agree and that is why I wanted to let everyone know what we experienced and how it was actually good. Minus the covid test. That one sucked. I wish it was the cotton swab or the spit one. I totally enjoyed the vacation and we felt really safe doing that. I sure hope the girls remember our trip, but not as much about the pandemic and the emotions they experienced. It has been a tough year.

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  5. That test sounds horrible. Glad you were able to vacation and it sounds like they are taking lots of precautions.

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    1. It was awful. They were taking a lot of precautions but it helped us feel safe. I am glad we went.

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  6. Love to hear the extra steps being taken, as it's allowing us to get back out and do these fun things safely. SO glad you guys got to finally go on your long awaited trip <3

    Green Fashionista

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    1. I totally agree. It is the only way things are going to get back to normal. I am all for the extra precautions. I am so glad that we got to go as well.

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  7. Thank you so much for the info. We are thinking about travel this summer, so this is good to know. That test sounds horrible. I still haven't had to get a test and hope I'll never have to do one like that! We are thinking of Hawaii, but I want to ask someone who has been how much you have to wear a mask. I wouldn't want to have to wear around the pool etc. Thanks for linking up with Hello Monday! Tanya - The Other Side of the Road

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    1. You are very welcome. That is why I wanted to write this post. So it can help others and prep others too. The test was awful. I wish it was the cotton swab one or the spit one. Those are easier. We didn't have to wear a mask at the pool. We are thinking of Hawaii for Christmas this year. I do know that you can get a negative covid test and not have to quarantine when you get there now.

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  8. It sounds like they have really great measures in place! I love that most of the resorts are offering testing before you had back to the US. Can’t wait to hear more about the vacation!

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    1. They really do. I was surprised at how many they had in place, but we definitely felt safe. I have a post coming on Wednesday!

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  9. Thanks for sharing how it works with going to Mexico with the pandemic. I am curious about going to Hawaii, since they require testing and you have to get it at a certain time before you go, but we can't guarantee how fast we get results here.

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    1. So if you stay in a hotel, they will usually offer it for you and you get it within 24 hours. And now you can get a test before you go and don't have to quarantine when you get there now. That recently changed for Hawaii. We are thinking of going in December. Maybe.

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  10. This is super interesting! The kids and I have had both the antigen and PCR tests twice now in the last two weeks, and the PCR test is HARD. Thankfully, our insurance covers both, but I'm NOT stoked to have to do it again before and after our move!

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    1. I have had the PCR test and it was just a swab inside the nose around and around again. I had that twice and it was a breeze. This one was a brush and they went far up and collected cells. Ugh. It was so awful. I wouldn't be stoked on having that again either.

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  11. Wow, it sounds like they are taking things very seriously down there... I'm surprised that they did so many temperature checks there! We do have to do them here for any doctor visits, but I don't think any of our restaurants are doing them. I bet all of this made you guys feel nice and safe!

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    1. They really are. Even more so than places around here. We only do them at doctor's offices too. We really did feel safe!

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