I was in Oaxaca a month ago, and I was shocked by how much masking was going on. It was mostly on public transportation (which is fine) and tourist attractions, including outdoor ones (such as the ethnobotanic garden - which to me made zero sense.) The hotels where I stayed generally had signs up saying masking was mandatory, but when I asked staff if that was still valid, they said not to worry about it. Lots of stores still required masking - and I can't count how many places forced me to take hand sanitizer before I stepped in - but some didn't. I would say that many locals also walked around with masks on while outside, and I ended up doing the same a lot because it was just a hassle to keep taking masks on and off whenever I wanted to walk into a shop or restaurant or grab a coffee.

I asked people why this was the case, because when I'd been in CDMX and Puebla in June, masking was by and large over. They said it was because state health authorities in Oaxaca continued to advocate mandatory masking, although I was also told that rule might be changing soon.

I didn't really mind the masking rules to be honest, and I complied with whatever people asked of me, but it was absolutely theater and as far as I'm concerned served absolutely no practical purpose other than making it look like people were doing something.