Following the shopping rules in Yucatan is a challenge

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The men running Walmart don’t think Kotex is necessary. And that’s just one thing adding to the confusion over how business is conducted in Yucatan these days.

Big-box stores are in confusion over how to comply with orders not to sell non-essential items on weekends.

Sanitary napkins apparently qualify as non-essential, like hair coloring and perfumes, at least in the hotel-zone Walmart, which taped off shelves containing Kotex. Underwear is suddenly not for sale weekends at the Chedraui Oriente.

Mérida, Yucatan (Archive)

“Can someone explain to me how restricting the purchase of these products prevents the spread of COVID-19?” a shopper asked rhetorically on Facebook.

“It’s a bit arbitrary. Depends on what the manager considers unnecessary,” said a Walmart shopper who could not buy dog shampoo, but could purchase a dog’s leash, this morning.

The measure was intended to protect small stores from chain-store competition, but has resulted in a disagreement over what constitutes essential merchandise.

Meanwhile, the newest strategy to stem the coronavirus outbreak in Yucatan is to stagger business hours.

The state government, in conjunction with the Business Coordinating Council (CCE) of Yucatan, announced schedules meant to thin out potential crowds.

The Monday-Friday schedule will be introduced Wednesday and become mandatory the following Monday, Aug. 24.

The established working hours are as follows:

Construction sector: 7 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Industrial sector: 9 a.m. – 7 p.m.

Professional services and the government sector: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Merida Downtown Shops: 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.

Shops outside Centro: 11 a.m. – 8 p.m.

These measures were adopted after analyzing public transport service data collected since the beginning of the health contingency by the Institute of Mobility and Urban Territorial Development and endorsed mobility and public health consultants, state officials said in a press release.

Public transport will continue under limited hours, from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. while private vehicles are banned from streets between 10:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. inland and between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. in coastal towns.

Employers are responsible for ensuring work hours allow staff to be home before curfew.

Source: YEL

The Mazatlan Post