BELIZE CITY, Sun. Dec. 5, 2021– The national curfew to curb the spread of COVID-19 infections across the country has been in place for over a year now. During Friday’s sitting of the House of Representatives, however, Mesopotamia area rep, Hon. Moses “Shyne” Barrow, questioned the need for the curfew, given the rising rate of vaccination, already exceeding 50%, in the country.
“Will the Minister of Health and Wellness please tell this honorable House why a nationwide curfew is still being enforced despite the almost fifty percent of the population being vaccinated, despite vaccination cards and negative rapid tests being required for public officers to work and for private citizens to enter public buildings, despite the damaging impact to our economy, our financial and mental health?” Hon. Barrow asked.
In response, Minister Chebat called the current curfew in place “very mild”. (Recently the Government of Belize approved a relaxation of the length of the nightly curfew period by one hour, a decision made given the upcoming holiday season and expected spike in tourist arrivals. Minister of Tourism, Hon. Anthony Mahler called it a delicate balancing act.)
Minister Chebat, for his part, replied, “We have five hundred and seventy-eight reasons (a reference to the number of Covid-19-related local deaths) why we still have this very mild curfew in place. Mr. Speaker, we cannot continue saying that our fatality rate is too high, yet we want to do away with safety measures.”
Experts have indicated that a daily positivity rate below 5% for a two-week period would be an indication of the end of community transmission of the virus and a pivotal yard mark in determining whether or not a curfew remains in place. In the latest COVID-19 infographic issued by the MOHW, the country recorded a positivity rate of 4.21%.
The question of when the curfew will be lifted is one that has been voiced repeatedly among members of the public, with many persons who are already vaccinated expressing their view that the strict restrictions should be lifted for them at least, to both encourage those unvaccinated persons to get the jab and in order for the economy to be fully opened for vaccinated persons. While some countries have moved to implement separate COVID-19 policies for vaccinated and unvaccinated persons, curfews typically remain in place across the board.
In his response, Chebat accused Shyne of “playing politics with the pandemic”. “The reality is, Sir, that you all need to stop playing politics with the pandemic. Unlike your Minister of Health, this Ministry has been working. We have been addressing a variety of health issues,” Chebat said.
This immediately led to a point of order from the Opposition side.
“The point of order is (Section) thirty-eight, where he’s imputing improper motives by saying that we are playing politics with the pandemic. I am one of the Members of the Opposition that has partnered with the Ministry of Health to do the vaccination drive, so I resent that comment. What science are you relying on, Honorable Minister?” Shyne asked, in response to Chebat’s remarks.
Chebat, in his reply, pointed out that a member representing the Opposition is on the national COVID-19 team and contributes to the decisions made by the Ministry of Health and Wellness.
According to recent research published by Nature.com, experts found that non-pharmaceutical interventions or NPIs remain necessary to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the absence of widespread vaccination. It adds, however that, “Less disruptive and costly NPIs can be as effective as more intrusive, drastic, ones (for example a national lockdown).”