Last night - Belizeans waited in anxious anticipation for the Prime Minister's address on the new COVID measures. It was released just before 7:30 and announces several new regulations to come into effect on September 20th. But the statement didn't answer a lot of questions and residents wanted clarity. The press and the public hoped those - and many other questions - would have been answered this evening at a Ministry of Health and Works Press conference. But, the Ministry - whose public messaging has so far been led by a politician - threw a change up - and trotted out the doctors - with the notable exclusion of any medical professionals from the office of the Director of Health Services or the Epidemiological Unit. Still, the MOHW rep explained why they had to resort to these measures.
Dr. Julio Sabido - Representative, MOHW
"From a subset of data within the time period of access to the COVID-19 vaccines which is from June 1st to September 13th, there was 187 covid hospital admissions of which 77.5% admissions were unvaccinated patients, 16% had only one dose and 6.5% had two doses of the vaccine. From April 1st to September 13th there were 51% of the deaths due to COVID-19 had no vaccine, 11.3% had only one dose of the vaccine and 6.5% had two doses of the vaccine. The measures that the medical response team has recommended and the government acceded to is as follows, for a period of 2 weeks starting September 20th, 2021 ending October 4th, 2021, there will be a curfew starting 7 pm to 4 am countrywide with the exception of Ambergris Caye, Caye Caulker, The Placencia peninsula and Hopkins. The curfew for these destination remain 9 pm to 4 am. Restaurants are to provide takeout service only with the exception of restaurants in those areas that I mentioned. Churches and Casinos are to close, contact sports will not be allowed and there will be 2 no movement days. One which will be Sunday, 26th September and the other which will be 3rd October. Movement will be allowed only for medical attention, to purchase medication, to purchase food, to purchase fuel and for travel to and from the Phillip Goldson International Airport."
And to clarify: the productive sector and medical facilities will be allowed to open on the "no movement" Sundays.
