Minister of Tourism Says COVID Regulation Changes Will Help Reopen Economy
Last night we told you that new curfew hours, giving Belizeans additional time to be out at night, will be rolling out beginning November twenty-second. Restaurants will also no longer be required to check vaccination cards after that date. But this has raised concerns, since at least twenty COVID deaths have been reported in the last few days and there has been no steep decline in the number of new cases. Because the tourism sector has been among the most vocal in seeking to ease both the curfew and vaccine mandates, we asked Minister of Tourism Anthony Mahler about the decisions made this week.
Anthony Mahler, Minister of Tourism
“In Cabinet we agreed to shift the curfew a little bit. Weekends will go to eleven o’clock, during the week, ten o’clock. We are going to remove the requirement for vaccination cards to enter into a restaurant, a couple other initiatives that we have. The Ministry of Health will put out some of those things in the coming days. I think it should be able to help us to have a better high season starting Thanksgiving for the US, which is the last Thursday of November.”
Reporter
“Again, going back to that balance, because we are talking about the number of COVID deaths. So, somebody might look at it and say you are trying to relax restrictions to appease a certain sector. How do you balance that out?”
Anthony Mahler, Minister of Tourism
“It is a tough balancing act, but we have a lot of people living in struggle right now, poverty and hunger. I have to deal with it as representative for predominantly Southside. I see it on a daily basis. We don’t have enough to go around. We take a licking everyday in trying to provide assistance for our people. So yes, there has to be a balance between livelihoods and lives, in terms of opening up the economy in a safe way. But, there are examples all around us. So if more and more people get vaccinated, we should be in a better position going into 2022. We have to get back the economy on track. There are so many businesses on the brink. There are so many people who are on the verge of losing their homes. There are so many people who can’t pay their bills, light bill, water bill, can’t even feed their children, can’t send them school. So it is our responsibility to have the balance and to ensure that the economy opens up in a safe way.”
