And while shoppers did their thing today, the ComPol is hoping you keep the COVID protocols in mind - social distancing and sanitizing constantly. He's also hoping that residents don't use this Christmas season as a reason to party - considering that social gatherings are still disallowed. However, while the ComPol has given his blessing for you to spend time with family, he cautions that if your Christmas dinner gathering resembles anything close to a party, the police will be there to crack down on it.
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
"And so, I want to first and foremost encourage our Belizean people to please adhere to the provisions of the regulation. The regulation also speaks against social gathering, recreational events and parties. Again, while yes we do understand that it is Christmas time and its a time when family come together and bond. While we can say that we could understand people going to their love ones home and perhaps have lunch together, we do not encourage that you turn that lunch activity into a social event, playing loud music and consuming alcohol, because then that transform into a social event and if any one person within that setting would have the virus, that person would then be in a position to easily spread the virus to others and so we want to ask people to refrain from having these social events and as much as you can try to stay within the confines of your home. Remember to practice social distance if you go out in public. We see that the stores are extremely packed these days and to some extent the social distance protocol is not being adhere to. Again, ensure that you are properly sanitized yourselves. The numbers as we have seen over the past few days is going down except for yesterday we saw that the numbers went up a bit. But at the end of the day each and every one of us have the responsibility to do our part to make sure that our numbers continue to go on a downward trend and we can do so by acting responsibly."
And the Ministry of Health and Wellness issued a release in the light of advertisements of Christmas and New Years parties at known nightclubs and bars across the country. They reminded Belizeans that those types of establishments are still NOT allowed to be open. And the ComPol added that the police will be out in full force - and that anybody attending or hosting these events will be arrested. The curfew still starts at midnight tonight.
