Puerto Peñasco….Getting closer to receiving Tourism.

By Beverly Arrowood On May 21st, 2020

Things have been shut down in Rocky Point for around 60 days at this point, but we think we see light at the end of the tunnel as far as opening the city up for tourism.   Mayor Kiko Munro, announced that if we stay well during phases 1 and 2 with not a lot of new cases, we should be open to accept visitors  and residents on June 16th.  Many residents have not been able to check on their homes since the shut down and are worried about their investment.  It has been rough for the people who rent their properties as they have no rental income but the expenses are still there. As of today, May 21st it is reported there are 4 cases, but 4th case has not been confirmed yet.  The residents did what they were asked to do and it has really helped.  Sadly the Federal Government closed all beaches even for walking and not sun bathing.  It has been proven in some areas of the USA, that exposure to fresh air, sun and salt water actually kill or slows the virus, so hopefully soon, we will all have beach access.

We started Phase 1 on Monday the May 18th- May 31st with the openings of beauty shops, barber shops and basically any business that you needed to make an appointment to see like mechanics, etc.  Needless to say these business have been swamped, even though there can only be one person inside the business besides the person performing the job.  Each business has to take a training class in sanitation and the wearing of gloves and masks where needed. They also have to fill out a form and agree that they will do everything and have the health department come in to sanitize their facility.  This is being done at no cost to the businesses, which is good as they have had little or no income for the 60 days.

Phase 2 starts June 1st – June 15th with the opening of restaurants and bars at 40% occupancy, furniture stores, coffee shops, golf courses water activities such as sport fishing. Proper distancing will apply and again the same rules will apply from the health department.  We are hoping that all of our restaurants will be able to open at a diminished capacity as they need more than 40% occupancy to break even.  These businesses have had to pay taxes, electric, salaries and more during the time of shut down and this is very difficult to come back to the where they were before the closing.

Phase 3 will start June 16th – going forward.  Even if Puerto Peñasco is open, remember the beaches may not be, so if you are planning to spend your time on the beach, you may not be able to.  They are putting a plan into the works that every person entering the city at the north end will have to under go thermal screening for a temperature check .  There will be thermal cameras and video cameras set up by the road block. As of this writing the highway from Caborca and the one coming from El Golfo remain closed and it has not been determined if they will be open on June 16th.

Rocky Point knows you are all anxious to come back down and we welcome you back. Just keep checking here as things are changing daily. We want to keep our case count down so that you can come down and enjoy everything that you have always been able to  enjoy, so please be patient.