BELIZE CITY, Sat. Dec. 19, 2020– On Friday, December 18, the Ministry of Health and Wellness hosted a press conference, at which they announced new COVID-19 measures.
A new Statutory Instrument, SI No. 175 of 2020, institutes an indefinite curfew to run from 8:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. each day, effective Sunday, December 20, 2020.
“The SI comes into effect on the 20th day of December and is in place until a new set of regulations is passed,” Minister of Health and Wellness, Michel Chebat, said.
This new curfew thus came into effect just hours after the expiration of the previous curfew measure, which was in place. That one ran from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. and was concluded on December 19. As mentioned, no end date was given for this new set of measures.
For minors, the curfew period starts two hours earlier than it does for the general public. Those under the age of 18 years must be indoors by 6:00 p.m. each day, and are not allowed to be on the streets until 5:00 a.m. the following morning.
The Ministry of Home Affairs will issue pass badges to security personnel, members of the Customs Department, and Immigration Service employees, public utility workers or any frontline healthcare worker who might need to be outside their homes during the curfew hours.
The curfew is in place to limit the movement of persons and ultimately the spread of the coronavirus across the country. The penalty for breaching this new curfew is a fine of five hundred dollars.
The fine for not wearing masks has also been decreased to $500.
Additionally, a new penalty is in place for persons who test positive for COVID-19 and choose to come out of mandatory quarantine.