New COVID Regulations to Take Effect on Sunday; Is Another Lockdown Pending?

John Briceño

New COVID-19 regulations will be coming into effect at midnight on Sunday. An official statutory instrument is yet to be released, but today, we learned from the Prime Minister some of what those new regulations will entail. PM Briceño says several of the new regulations will affect the Belize District exclusively. And, if the numbers continue to rise, there may be a need for a complete lockdown.

Prime Minister John Briceño

“The Ministry of Health can do everything they possibly can. They can put as many doctors and nurses out there for testing, but if people do not do their part, if they do not act responsibly, this is going to continue to spread. When you have people lining up with their vehicles in their pickup trucks, in front of those big stores in the city and buy beers buy the case, which one is illegal, even the stores should be sanctioned, and these people drinking out there, when that kind of action continues, when you continue to have parties and you are inviting friends to come over at your house, that is irresponsible. When you are having big wakes, and big re-pass, this does not help. One of the decisions we have made is to say that starting midnight Sunday, no liquor will be allowed to be sold in stores from six o’clock the evening. You will only be allowed to go to a restaurant and be able to buy food and get beer or a drink because you are in a restaurant. I think restaurants now, in Belize City, will only be takeout and fifty percent outside. But, no eating inside of the establishment. We have to take some of these drastic measures to get rid of the COVID. The BPOs, the call centers, we have met with them, and they have agreed to limit to fifty percent of their employees to go to the work site and the other fifty percent can stay home, to work from home. They also agreed and will ensure that those who go to the work site have to be vaccinated. With the casinos we have said, and we have met with them, all the employees must be vaccinated, no more than fifty percent, and those that come in have to be vaccinated. We are doing more and more of this, but if Belize City do not try to help the situation to control it, we may have to do a lockdown.”