Sonora governor closes border to North American travelers

Only essential trips to be allowed

YUMA, Ariz. (KECY, KYMA) - Americans planning to spend Independence Day in Mexico will have to make other plans. Sonora's governor is closing the border for anything but essential travel ahead of the holiday weekend.

Sonora Governor Claudia Pavlovich announced Wednesday travel restrictions for North Americans ahead of the 4th of July weekend to stop the spread of COVID-19 in Sonora, Mexico.

Pavlovich's travel ban comes on the same day Arizona set a new one-day record for both new coronavirus cases and deaths. The state added more than 4,800 new cases, and lost 88 more lives.

The governor announced, during a Zoom call, she'd spoken with Arizona Governor Doug Ducey and Sonora's Secretary of External Relations (SRE) Marcelo Ebrad about the travel restrictions.

[RELATED STORY: Sonora seeks temporary closure of border to prevent growth of COVID-19 cases]

Pavlovich plans to place checkpoints at every single Mexican port of entry along the Sonoran border, including Nogales, San Luis Rio Colorado, and Agua Prieta.

Travel will be restricted to only essential travel pertaining to work, commercial crossings or any health related visits.

She'll also ban Americans from Sonoran Beaches. Seaside cities like Puerto Peñasco and San Carlos are popular destinations for 4th of July partiers.

Gov. Pavlovich is also considering limiting the types of traffic that pass through parts of Sonora to limit the spread of the virus.

In addition, the governor urges residents to continue provide information to state officials so they can contact trace, and provide rapid testing.