蜜柚直播

As community transmission of the novel coronavirus accelerates in Mexico, prompting widespread beach closures, roadblocks and curfews, state and local law enforcement are making themselves more visible 鈥� and audible 鈥� to potential violators.

Over the weekend in San Carlos, blue-and-white police trucks cruised the main highway, blasting chilling warnings through a loudspeaker: 鈥淲e are in a health emergency. 鈥� Stay in your house.鈥�

A yellow banner on the back of one police vehicle reads, 鈥�Alerta: Contagio y muerte en las calles.鈥� Contagion and death in the streets.

鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to make people conscious鈥� of the danger, said Enrique G谩mez, San Carlos police commissioner. 鈥淲e鈥檝e never had a crisis like this.鈥�

In coastal towns throughout Mexico, Holy Week, or Semana Santa, is usually big business for hotels, rental properties, bars, restaurants and gift shops. In San Carlos, revelers typically crowd the beaches and trigger bumper-to-bumper traffic in the normally quiet town.

But on Tuesday, a police checkpoint blocked the only highway access to San Carlos, as heavily armed state police officers turned away travelers who couldn鈥檛 prove they live there. The checkpoint will remain in place at least through Easter and the following week, G谩mez said.

A curfew of 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. is also in effect, but police are not authorized to sanction violators, G谩mez said. They will, however, stop motorists out past curfew and ask them to return home immediately if their activity isn鈥檛 essential, he said.

The main entrances to Bahia Kino and Puerto Pe帽asco, known to many 蜜柚直播ns as Kino Bay and Rocky Point, are also blocked by police or military checkpoints, prohibiting nonresidents from entering.

In Bahia Kino, police are stopping pedestrians on the street to ask for ID, said Betty Martinez, a 12-year resident of Bahia Kino and a Mexican national. Martinez manages Club Deportivo, a nonprofit social club with 350 members who are primarily from the U.S. and Canada.

Many of those members have decided to remain in Bahia Kino during the pandemic, despite recommendations from the U.S. State Department for citizens to return home, she said.

They feel safer in a quiet beach town than in their home countries, she said.

鈥淭o see the police presence around the beaches and in the streets is comforting,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e feel safer knowing police are out on the streets making sure nobody is out spreading the virus, and nobody is coming in who may have been contaminated.鈥�

In Puerto Pe帽asco, Holy Week typically generates 120,000 beach visitors and $6.8 million in economic activity, H茅ctor Vazquez, president of Puerto Pe帽asco鈥檚 Office of Conventions and Visitors, said in an interview Tuesday.

Not this year. There was no time for the tourism sector to prepare for the severe economic impact of COVID-19. As a result, businesses are hurting, Vazquez said.

鈥淚t鈥檚 like everything comes too quickly: Let鈥檚 close the border, and then the curfew, and the checkpoints at the entrance鈥� to the town, he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 hard, and more (so) when it鈥檚 in your high season.鈥�

On Saturday, Sonora鈥檚 health council recommended aggressive new measures to contain the spread of the virus, including restricting gasoline sales to deter travel. State labor officials have yet to analyze the proposed measures.

But rumors of possible gas restrictions prompted a brief run of panic-buying in San Carlos last weekend, with lines of cars stretching into the road to at least one gas station on Saturday.

Sonora confirmed its first COVID-19 case on March 16. Sonora Gov. Claudia Pavlovich declared a national health emergency on March 25, urging all residents to 鈥渜uedate en casa鈥� 鈥� stay at home.

At last count, Sonora had confirmed 36 cases of coronavirus, including four deaths. There have been two confirmed coronavirus cases in Guaymas, the municipality that includes San Carlos, and 14 confirmed cases in Hermosillo, the state鈥檚 capital which includes Bahia Kino, 70 miles away. As in the U.S., limited testing likely dramatically understates the virus鈥檚 toll in Mexico.

The U.S. and Mexico reached an agreement last month to limit nonessential travel across the border, but regulation of southbound traffic is minimal. Mexican officials have said they won鈥檛 stop border crossers from coming but will rely on travelers to quarantine themselves upon arrival.

In San Carlos, G谩mez said beach closures apply primarily to large groups; one or two individuals walking on an empty beach shouldn鈥檛 warrant police intervention, he said.

But locals report that enforcement has been heavy-handed, as police have been ordering individuals or pairs off nearly empty beaches.

Throughout Sonora, nonessential businesses have been ordered to close. In San Carlos, most restaurants are shuttered or limited to carryout orders. Some holdouts are still seating a limited number of diners, with servers wearing masks and placing hand sanitizer at patrons鈥� tables.

Although support for the measures is strong, officials and residents hope they won鈥檛 last long. The Puerto Pe帽asco tourism office is urging tourists not to cancel their travel plans entirely, but to postpone them.

鈥淲e will be waiting for you here in Pe帽asco when the situation permits you to come,鈥� Vazquez said.