S.O.E. to be Lifted, but New Laws will be Introduced Subsequently

Michael Peyrefitte

Turning to COVID-19, the countrywide state of emergency expires next Tuesday and the weeklong countdown to the lifting of all remaining measures, including the end of the nightly curfew, has already began.  Cabinet met this morning and out of that meeting comes a fresh mandate for Director of Health Services, Doctor Marvin Manzanero, who is tasked with working along with the solicitor general on new laws to follow the June thirtieth expiry.  The drafting of those pieces of legislation which should cover the use of face masks and other public health measures will be completed in the days ahead, and Attorney General Michael Peyrefitte is expected to address the nation on June twenty-ninth.  According to Peyrefitte, a decision on what takes place in respect of COVID-19 after the state of emergency has been lifted will precede Friday’s meeting of the House of Representatives.

Michael Peyrefitte, Attorney General

“Hopefully whatever it is that we do, and I am sure, not hopefully, whatever it is that we do we will have the safety of the Belizean people as the only priority, to be honest with you.  I imagine that going forward there will be some risk taking, we cannot avoid it.  I don’t think that COVID-19 will be gone anytime soon so we have to try and mix it up a little bit.  The state of emergency being over which means that usually in a state of emergency the number one component of that is the curfew, so I imagine that probably the curfew won’t be there.  There is big discussion going on right now concerning the wearing of masks.  People hate the masks but the masks save us and we have to determine in what circumstances we will enforce the wearing of the masks and it what circumstances we will allow it.  I know that the prime minister has said that Dr. Manzanero and the officials at the Ministry of Health were doing some studies and analyzing some protocols as to how we could wear the masks without putting ourselves in any danger.  So all of that has to be determined.  It hasn’t been determined yet.  We don’t know where we are going yet in terms of beyond June thirtieth because we are all in that assessment mode.  We will make a decision certainly in the coming weeks, certainly we would have to make one before Friday because the house meeting is on Friday.  But very soon we will send out and give to the public what the way will be going forward post-June thirtieth.”