MERIDA Yucatan (Times Media Mexico) – This year, the cemeteries of Mérida will go through important changes on the occasion of the Day of the Dead (Hanal Pixan) celebrations, due to the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic.
Mayor Renán Barrera Concha announced on Friday, October 23rd, that vehicles will not be allowed into the General Cemetery, but only people.
He specified that people 70 years of age and older nor children will be allowed into the premises, in order to protect the health of vulnerable sectors of society.
The flower vendors will have awnings to respect the healthy distance and the sanitary protocols.
The mayor pointed out that the same protocols would be applied in the Xoclán cemetery, but more details will be given shortly about the schedules and activities that those who visit the pantheons will be able to carry out.
“Municipal government staff will be supervising compliance with the protocols and official provisions in this commemoration of the Day of the Dead,” he added.
In Mérida’s Plaza Grande, preparations for the reopening are on their way, although there is no specific date. La Plaza Grande is a highly valuable space for social life, job seekers, trova musicians, and different types of musical groups that see the place as a “hiring office”.
In addition, it is the headquarters of the traditional shoe shining “boleros“.
It will have restricted hours, from 6 in the morning to 10 at night. Only two people will be allowed per bench, and the confidants will be closed as part of social distancing to avoid coronavirus infections.
Reopening date is yet to be officially announced by municipal authorities.
