Cayo District Locks Down for Fourteen Days Beginning Tonight
Of the seven confirmed cases, the Cayo District accounts for three COVID-19 infections, including one deceased person. So at eight tonight, that district goes on lockdown to prevent the spread of the virus. It means that travel to and from the district will be restricted to essential services. News Five’s Isani Cayetano looks at what ahead for the west.
Isani Cayetano, Reporting
San Ignacio, Santa Elena and other communities within Cayo District will be shut down completely as of eight p.m. tonight, following the death of COVID-19 patient number four and the confirmation of two more cases in that part of the country on Monday. The entire country is already under a state of emergency which sees the implementation of a nightly curfew over a thirty-day period. In the twin towns, additional measures are also coming into force as a thorough contact tracing exercise is being conducted in those municipalities. But what are residents out west saying and how do they feel about the stringent measures being put in place there?
Cayo Resident 1
“You haffi think first about the people, di money wahn come later on. Yo could always recover money, but yo cyant recover life. So di lockdown good; yes people wahn suffer, yes di poor people especially weh noh have money fi go out and buy dehn groceries weh dehn wahn need fi lockdown. Dehn da di ones weh wahn suffer most. Unfortunately, that da just di reality, so da either we lose lives or we lose money. So wahn choice have to be made and di moral decision eena dis case weh I guess di prime minister mek wahn good decision, dehn haftu lockdown.”
This afternoon, in carrying out their duties, police on foot patrol stopped a number of people in Santa Elena, inquiring about their comings and goings. One resident told us that the situation is dire and joblessness has forced him to have to beg for food and basic necessities.
Cayo Resident 2
“Dehn ask me where I’m going and I tell dehn I gwein da pharmacy, you know, try get wahn lee medicine but everything closed down now.”
Reporter
“And so how dis thing di affect yoh, like how yoh eat and how yoh get thing and so?”
Cayo Resident 2
“Well things bad because right now, no job open. Ah di try look fi job but right now ah di try run bout di try sih if ah could work noh, but nothing no di happen,s o I noh got no money fi eat. Ah haffi di beg now.”
Senior Superintendent Linden Flowers is the Western Regional Commander for the Belize Police Department. He explains the urgent need for people to adhere to new rules that will come into force later tonight, as well as the fact that San Ignacio police, despite assisting with the education campaign, are also coming down hard on offenders, particularly those wandering around aimlessly during the curfew hours.
Linden Flowers
Sr. Supt. Linden Flowers, Western Regional Commander
“We are in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic scare for the Cayo District and you certainly heard and read all of the information on the Government of Belize press briefings, updates in the amendments of our laws, our curfew, our state of emergencies and the police officers for the Cayo District. In fact, you‘ve heard the news since Sunday where Cayo District is concerned, with the passing of our first COVID-19 victim. I just felt it necessary to come out here this afternoon to again appeal to the residents of the Cayo District to respect, to abide, to obey, to adhere to the safety standards, the social distancing standards, the hygiene standards of washing your hands and sanitizing your area. And we are asking them to stay home, keeping away. The police officers have been out from the onset, across the district and across the country, enforcing the laws and asking people, begging and pleading with citizens to adhere to these laws so that we may save lives; so that we may avoid the scourge of this deadly virus. We are out here night and day asking you and pleading with you, many persons and many people across the district have been adhering to but there is still that percentage of persons who are defiant in obeying and respecting the social distancing and we see the arrest of persons every day. We have the curfew for adults and children from eight p.m. We have the opening hours for shops. We just want to say for citizens, the stores are open for you to come and buy essentials, for you to buy stuff for your family to cook. Don‘t be sending out children on the street.”
There are a total of seven confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Belize, of which three cases have been recorded in San Ignacio Town. Cayo District remains under additional lockdown for the next fourteen days. Reporting for News Five, I am Isani Cayetano.
