The flow of people in the Historic Center of Merida continues to increase as Christmas Eve approaches.
From the early hours of the day and as shops open, Yucatecans arrive at the Historic Center, challenging COVID-19, to acquire a gift or the outfit that they want to wear for the Christmas dinner, despite the fact that the authorities continue to exhort people not to leave their house, to only meet with the nuclear family, and to continue with hygiene measures, such as the use of face masks, constant hand washing, and healthy distance.
The flow of people through the main streets is noticeable, entire families pass by carrying bags of gifts and toys, others just sit on the benches in public parks waiting for someone.
Children and seniors alike, even toddlers and people with disabilities roam the shops, looking for clothes, shoes, bags, or decorations for the house, and why not, even the piñata that they will break on December 24, in a gathering that most likely will bring together more than 6 people, the ideal formula to gestate the incubation of the virus and so that by January 15th, thousands of new cases start to appear throughout Yucatan.
The driver of the combi is happy, because after several months without any profit, now he is riding around the city with a vehicle full of passengers.
The manager of the clothing store invites everyone on the street to come in and buy, thermometer in hand, although it is not clear if the thing works or not.
Prevention does not seem to be carried out in a proper manner. There are many people wearing face masks improperly, and they are not taking care of themselves responsibly.
Many people can be seen not respecting the healthy distance and, on occasions, children are seen without masks.
A 5-year-old boy walks with his mother without a face mask on, they don’t seem to be aware they are exposing themselves, they can easily get infected and infect their relatives as they go back home. It seems like people in the Yucatan are not really aware of the dangerous situation we are currently going through.
The responsibility belongs to each and every one of us because as the Ministry of Health has said many times if this situation continues, the pandemic will get out of control (isn’t it out of control already?).
Despite the fact that people are supposed to know the pertinent care and sanitary measures that they must carry out when leaving their homes, they are not actually complying with these provisions.
Vehicle traffic is no different, an UBER driver indicates that it takes just over an hour to get out of the downtown area, depending on the hour, but he also says that his routes have been constant, not only to the center, he also has taken a lot of passengers to the shopping malls, where the influx of people is also constant, and although it is not the same as last year, you see shoppers queuing to enter the different shops, and the parking lots look full.
