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Rocky Point Offers Discount For Visitors With Negative COVID-19 Tests; Other Destinations Require Tests For Entry

Rocky Point
Kendal Blust/KJZZ
/
editorial | staff
The Sonoran beach town Puerto Peñasco is a popular destination for Arizona tourists.

Last week, officials in neighboring Sonora, Mexico, announced that anyone hoping to visit the state’s popular tourist destinations during spring break will have to  show proof of a negative COVID-19 test. But Rocky Point is taking another approach.

Rather than require a test for entry, beach town Puerto Peñasco, or Rocky Point, is offering discounts of 5% or more to visitors who can show proof of full vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test that is no more than 72 hours old at hotels, bars and restaurants.

Mayor Kiko Munro touted the incentive as a safety measure.

"We’re promoting visits from people who are healthy," he said, adding that city is also enforcing measures like mask-wearing and social distancing and will require hotels to give rapid antigen tests to some visitors.

Some other cities in Sonora have also rejected the state’s mandatory test-for-entry requirement.

On the other hand, beach towns San Carlos and Kino Bay, are requiring tests. And towns along the Rio Sonora have asked visitors not to come at all over concerns that travelers will cause another outbreak in the state.

Kendal Blust was a senior field correspondent at KJZZ from 2018 to 2023.