And while that dramatic Supreme Court decision was the hottest news of the day - the new COVID regulations laid out today will be with us for weeks, maybe more.
This morning, the Ministry of Health and Wellness hosted a long awaited press conference, rolling out the new SI that will come into effect on December 20 - deployed to quickly contain the fast increasing number of COVID cases and deaths.
And even though we say "new" SI, it's regulations are similar to previous ones under the Barrow Administration. Familiar regulations like curfews, mandatory face masks, and social distancing are still in place, along with other protocols like limited inter district travel, that the police and the Ministry will enforce with random spot checks.
Minister of Health, Michel Chebat, gave a brief overview of the new regulations.
Hon. Michel Chebat, Minister of Health and Wellness
"Starting on the 20th of December, the curfew being imposed will commence at 8pm and it will go to 5am. For minors, children under 16 years old, the curfew will begin at 6pm and that will last till 5am. The sale of liquor will be restricted from 6pm to 7am with the exception of those restaurants that are in hotels. There is now gonna be a penalty for persons who have tested positive and are not adhering to the mandatory quarantine. The penalty for not wearing a mask will continue, we are not introducing a restriction to public transportation where buses and water taxis will only be permitted to carry 50% of their seating capacity. In terms of businesses who violate and employees who violate these regulations, a $200 fine will be imposed on employees and on employers a $5,000 fine and a second violation by employers will result in their business being closed for a period of 7 days. We're also gonna be imposing a fine for those people who continue to have parties at their homes. Businesses are only gonna be allowed a 50% customer base which is gonna be based on their square footage. We're introducing a limit to non-essential travel, interdistrict travel from Corozal and Orange Walk districts. The concept behind limited this non-essential interdistrict movement is very simple in view of the fact that are unable to sustain the type of protracted nationwide limitation of movement of the nature a scope that we have seen in other countries, the localized interdistrict movement limitation instead seeks to attain a fall in the incidences and overall rate of transmission at the municipal and subnational levels."
