BELIZE CITY, Thurs. Apr. 23, 2020– In an update this afternoon on Belize’s battle against the novel coronavirus, Prime Minister Dean Barrow trumpeted the good news that there have been no new cases of the virus since Monday, April 13, and that the clusters of the virus that were present in Belize City and San Ignacio have been contained.

The Prime Minister used his video address to explain that on Monday and Tuesday next week, government will present a motion to the National Assembly to extend the national State of Emergency for another two months.

Barrow said that Statutory Instrument No. 55 of 2020, came into effect at midnight on Holy Saturday, April 11.

He stated, “In consequence of that SI, there was the imposition of a complete Sunday lockdown, public transportation was brought to a halt, Government offices were closed to the public, and additional private sector businesses were shuttered. Unless extended, these extra barriers were to last until April 25, 2020, except for the Sunday lockdown, which was to remain until April 30, the full life of the rest of SI 55.

“I am now able to declare officially that there will be no extension of the additional special buffers. They will, therefore, expire at midnight this Saturday.”

“Thus, in-country public transportation by land, air and sea will resume for essential workers and essential purposes. Those passengers, though, whether on bus, boat or plane, will be required to wear face masks. Government offices will reopen and those additional businesses placed on total cessation can go back to operating during limited hours. As well, the special Sunday quarantine will disappear,” stated the Prime Minister.

He further explained,  ”So, after midnight on Saturday, all that will happen is that we will go back to the state of affairs that existed immediately prior to the inclusion of the additional measures in SI 55 of 2020. In other words, we will still be in lockdown mode, though in a manner not quite as draconian as provided for by the additional special measures.

“The original State of Emergency proclamation will itself expire on April 30, 2020. There will, therefore, be a meeting of the House on Monday coming, and a meeting of the Senate the following day. Those meetings are for the sole purpose of approving the State of Emergency extension.”

“The National Oversight Committee is currently being advised by the National Task Force, the economic czars and the Health team as to further relaxations that the new SI could safely permit.

“The point is that we are looking at the commencement of a phased, calibrated restart of business and economic activity in Belize,” Prime Minister Barrow informed.

The House of Representatives order paper that has been sent to House members in anticipation of the meeting to extend the State of Emergency, says the following:

“Recognizing that the period of public emergency shall expire at the end of day on the 30th day of April 2020

“NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that this Honourable House, being satisfied that a period of public emergency persists in the entire country of Belize as a result of the outbreak of the infectious disease known as COVID-19, hereby extends the period of public emergency in the country of Belize for a further period of two months.”

If the circumstances change, government can shorten the state of emergency, but for the time being, it is scheduled to continue until the end of June.

In order to ensure observance of the social distancing rules that are in place, the House and Senate meetings will not be attended by all members. In the House, only 7 members will be present, including the Speaker, and in the Senate, four senators and the President of the Senate will steer the new law through the upper house of parliament.

Hon. Tracy Taegar-Panton, Minister of State with responsibility for Investment, Trade, and Commerce, explained to the media on Wednesday what the reopening of the country would entail.

“I think that reopening the economy is a little bit premature. And while we do have 2 cases that have recovered, as Dr. Manzanero said, we don’t have a curve. I do believe that at our meeting next week, we hope to relax some of the measures that are now in place so that there can be more movement in the economy.

“But, there won’t be any opening of any borders, or the airport, or anything like that. We feel that the public health officials have really done a good job. Certainly, we have not shut down the productive sector. We have kept the productive sector open, and we are speaking to the markets, where we can export the excess. What we can use in the government programs, we will be using, but I think it’s still a couple of weeks ahead of us before we can say we have reopened the economy, so to speak,” Minister Taegar-Panton said.

The State of Emergency also has as one of its components a curfew, and police have so far arrested over 400 persons for curfew violations. Some of these persons have already pleaded guilty in court and are now facing hefty court fines that are as high as $5,000. Failure to pay these fines could lead to imprisonment for up to 2 years.

Feature photo: File Photo: Prime Minister Barrow and Tracy Taegar-Panton