Social Distancing is a Challenge in Mid-April
Recent reports on the international media suggest that social distancing is an effective tool in fighting the spread of the COVID-19. Locally, the practice was among the first measures imposed to keep the number of cases on the low side. But a visit at different locations today shows that it is not being enforced. Persons lining up at supermarkets, financial institutions and at the Samuel Haynes Institute were not observing the six-foot rule as they went about conducting transactions. Here is News Five’s Isani Cayetano with a report.
Isani Cayetano, Reporting
By reducing the chances of an uninfected person coming into physical contact with someone who has either tested positive for or is exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19, the disease transmission can be prevented, resulting in fewer deaths. This is the principle of social distancing, one of several non-pharmaceutical measures taken to stop the spread of coronavirus. It falls within the amendments to the Emergency Powers Regulation, however, enforcement of social distancing remains problematic.
Dean Barrow
Prime Minister Dean Barrow [File: March 26th, 2020]
“There is no need for panic. We don’t have to crowd the supermarkets and grocery stores because there is more than a sufficiency of necessary supplies. This will continue for as long as the pandemic lasts.”
Over the past two days, taking into consideration that it is mid-April, the streets of Belize City have been abuzz with activity, as many have come out to collect salaries, transact businesses and make essential purchases. While it is necessary for these obligations to be met, the six-foot distance between persons gathered outside of supermarkets and banks is not being adhered to. The deaths of Hubert Pipersburgh and Conrad Everett should strike a chord as to the need for maintaining physical distance.
Prime Minister Dean Barrow [File: April 5th, 2020]
“It is also a reminder, coming to us in the worst possible way, of the need for all Belizeans to treat this terrible virus with the grave seriousness it deserves. No one need doubt that such a reminder is necessary. Every day since the declaration of the state of emergency, the police have had to arrest scores of persons for breaking curfew and breaching the stay-at-home and social distancing regulations.”
Today, scores of residents stood outside in the mid-morning heat awaiting their turn to collect relief assistance at the Samuel Haynes Institute on Mahogany Street. Notwithstanding the fact the compound abuts the police precinct, there was little that could be done to keep the meandering lines in check.
Chester Williams
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police [File: April 8th, 2020]
“We continue to do what we can with a view to ensure that we limit the number of persons on the street as best we as we can. And I just want to, again, emphasize to our Belizean people to please abide by the rules: stay at home, stay at home, stay at home. If you don’t need to be on the streets, stay at home.”
At a time when food supplies in many households have dwindled, it is the most difficult advice to give, despite the need to stem the spread of the virus. To slow down its spread, in an effort to avoid overburdening the healthcare system, measures, including the closing of schools and workplaces, restricting the movement of people and cancellations of mass gatherings are in effect, but the police department continues to grapple with social distancing. Reporting for News Five, I am Isani Cayetano
