Private Businesses to be Scrutinized for COVID Regulations Compliance

The transportation industry, which includes buses and water taxis, will also be heavily scrutinized in the days ahead to ensure that passengers adhere to the regulations that are in place. Those measures include social distancing, the use of face masks, as well as hand sanitizing when boarding public transportation.  Similar rules apply for business owners who will be monitored to ensure that patrons are in compliance with these regulations.

Dean Barrow

Prime Minister Dean Barrow

“We want to look carefully at the provision of penalties for transport operators and businesses who do not take reasonable measures to ensure that their clients adhere to mask wearing, sanitizing before entering premises or conveyance and that they adhere to social distancing.  Now we all saw the water taxis being crammed to overflow, that sort of thing would have to stop.  Well San Pedro is locked off but not Caye Caulker and in terms of the terrestrial transport, the buses, we want the bus operators, we had already done something about the terminal operators, but we want the actual bus drivers and conductors to deny entry on the bus to anybody who refuses to wear a mask.  We understand that that can be difficult because there are those who in fact will want to give trouble and insist on being let on even if the conductor or the driver tells that person to stop.  So we’ll have to draft this very carefully so we don’t put an onus on the transport operations and business owners, and onus that they can’t discharge.  So the requirement is that they take all reasonable measures to ensure that their clients adhere.”