BELIZE CITY, Thurs. Apr. 30, 2020– At midnight tonight, the one-month State of Emergency that government declared on April 1 comes to an end. Tomorrow, May 1, Belize enters a new State of Emergency regime under which some of the harsh rules that were instituted during the previous month have been eased, as other rules come into effect in the government’s continuing battle to keep the country free from the spread of the deadly COVID-19 pandemic.

Today, following the announcement by Prime Minister Dean Barrow that government is lifting some of the strict lockdown rules, Attorney General and Minister of National Security, Michael Peyrefitte, took to the airwaves on the government’s webcast Meet the Experts to explain the new State of Emergency laws contained in government’s latest Statutory Instrument.

The new, extended State of Emergency is expected to last until June 30, unless it is cut short by government through a motion which has to be approved by parliament.

 AG Peyrefitte explained that the 8:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. curfew remains in effect.

“The curfew remains from 8:00 at night until 5:00 the next morning, every night until June 30th,” Peyrefitte announced.

The Attorney General explained that if you are not a police officer, BDF soldier, Coast Guard officer or frontline worker for the government, or a Customs and Immigration officer, you are not allowed to be on the streets during curfew hours.

Peyrefitte stressed that even police officers can be arrested for being on the streets during the curfew, if they are not on duty. Police officers have been arrested for violating curfew hours, Peyrefitte said.

“I want the Belizean people to remember that we are still in the State of Emergency. We’ll remain that way, and the curfew stays in place,” Peyrefitte said.

The curfew for children also remains in place, said the Attorney General, although the hours have been adjusted because more establishments are being allowed to open their doors.

“Children will be allowed to be on the streets from 8:00 in the morning until 6:00 in the evening, if you’re under 16. Why we have extended it from 4:00 to 6:00, it’s very simple. If we’re allowing more people to work, then more chances people will have babysitting needs. So, if you get off work at 4:00, you’ll be given a chance to pick up your child between 4:00 and 6:00, and get that child off the street by 6 o’clock,” said Peyrefitte.

(It has been announced that while daycare establishments will remain closed during the extended State of Emergency, babysitters will be permitted to provide care for children, either in the homes where the children live, or in the babysitters’ homes.)

“Not because you’re allowed to be out there means that the police can’t question you. What is this child doing here? If you are just galavanting, you’ll be committing an offense. You have to demonstrate clearly to the police officer that you have to have that child with you before 6:00 because you either need to go perform an essential service, or you had to pick up that child from the babysitter to take him or her back home,” Peyrefitte further explained.

In addition to the six-foot social distancing requirements, government has also included in the Statutory Instrument the mandatory wearing of a face mask each time you leave your home to be on the streets. Failure to wear a mask on the street or in any public place will subject the violator to harsh penalties, which could even be extended to prison time.

“You still have to maintain social distancing protocols. You must remain 6 feet apart from each person. If I say nothing else, I say this: For the next 2 months, everybody who is in public — if you leave your house, you must leave with a mask on. You will not be allowed to be on the street or walk into any approved business if you don’t have a mask on. So, if you don’t have your mask on, and you’re on the street, you’ll be committing an offense,” Peyrefitte said.

“When you leave your house, you must wear a mask. Listen, just always wear a mask. It doesn’t matter what you’re doing, wear a mask,” he stated.

Director of the Government Press Office, Dorian Pakeman, who appeared on the webcast with Peyrefitte, asked him, “What is the penalty for not wearing a mask in public?”

“$5,000 or 2 years in jail,” Peyrefitte responded.

“It’s the same penalty. If you’re caught without a mask, the penalty is $5,000 or 2 years in jail,” Peyrefitte confirmed when Pakeman asked him if the fines for violating the curfew and for being in a public place without a mask are the same.

Peyrefitte also explained that no one is allowed to go into any place of business without a mask, otherwise both the person who enters the establishment and the owner of the establishment will be held liable under the law.

Although movement within Belize is permissible during the State of Emergency, the Attorney General explained that traveling within the country cannot be for leisure, and the rules for staying indoors remain in effect even if someone travels to another part of the country and is staying at a hotel. Those who are traveling to the districts must be doing so for a valid reason he said.

“If you are out in the street between 5:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. at night, you must be out to purchase essential needs. You must be attending for medical attention, there must be some sort of emergency, you must be an essential worker or an employee of an approved business. You must be a home health care provider of services to sick people, disabled or elderly persons or to children, going to and from work. You must be a person obtaining a service of an approved business or office,” said Peyrefitte.

“In other words, then, you still cannot go from Belize City to Belmopan for simply a casual reason. You are not allowed to go finally visit your relatives in Dangriga, who you haven’t seen in the past 6 weeks; that is still not allowed,” Peyrefitte explained.

“Gymnasiums and sporting complexes remain closed. Discotheques, bars, rum shops and night clubs remain closed. You have to continue to at least, for now, party virtually and online. I don’t know what kind of party that is, but for now, that’s the kind of party we have to have.

“As we told you, the list of allowed business is extensive, and so, if you would like to verify if your enterprise qualifies, you can find the Statutory Instrument on it, which will be posted on the Government of Belize’s website, as well as the Government Press Office’s outlets,” the Attorney General said.

While various wholesalers and retailers will be allowed to operate and restaurants will be open for takeout or delivery, food vendors are not allowed to resume business. So those tacos and hotdog vendors who sell their food for a living and the many families who depend on the selling of food to earn a living will continue to be out of work.

Beauty salons and barber shops, however, will be allowed to operate, but under strict guidelines. Here’s how the AG explained their opening conditions.

“When we say beauty salons, we mean hair, nails, manicure and pedicure. I don’t want to be graphic, but I want to be precise. No massages, no spa. Sorry ladies, no waxing right now. None of that can occur; the only thing that is allowed in the beauty salon is hair, manicure and your pedicure. That is allowed to be done, but nothing that would be considered spa. Barbershops can now open, but the barber needs to have on a mask and the customer needs to be wearing as much as she or he can.

“But there is a big, big condition to these two things. It can only be done by appointment only, and at any given time, only two customers can be in the shop at the same time, except for the people who work there,” said Peyrefitte.

The list of businesses that are allowed to open can be found in Section 9-1 of Statutory Instrument Number of 62 of 2020 that was signed by the Governor General on April 25.

The Statutory Instrument can be viewed on the Government Press Office Facebook page or its website: https://www.pressoffice.gov.bz/.

Feature photo: AG and Minister of National Security Hon. Michael Peyrefitte