BELIZE CITY, Weds. Mar. 31, 2021– The nationwide nightly curfew was set to end on April 3, but a joint decision handed down by the Minister of Home Affairs, Hon. Kareem Musa, and the Minister of Health and Wellness, Hon. Michel Chebat, has led to its extension until mid-April.

In the middle of April, when the new expiration date for the curfew approaches, the regulation will once again be revisited and Cabinet will decide whether or not the time has come to lift the curfew.

Since mid-December 2020, the curfew has been in place, and the country has since seen a drastic reduction in the huge number of Covid-19 cases that were within the country at that time. The Ministry of Health and Wellness attributes this reduction in cases largely to the implementation of the curfew and has expressed concerns that a relaxation of that measure may cause a third wave of infections in the country.

“It is going to be extended until the fifteenth of April. By that time, the Cabinet would have been able to meet and to review the numbers, and a decision will be made at that time.” Minister Chebat said in an interview with local media.

The tourism industry is also being affected by the nightly curfew. The CEO of the Ministry of Tourism, Nicole Solano, has said that the industry would hope that the restrictions can be lifted in their totality, but a pushback of the time at which the curfew starts to at least midnight would be suitable. She pointed out that the restrictions on bars, restaurants, and transportation are limiting the capacity to generate revenue within the tourism industry.