The National Oversight Committee - which has steadily steered Belize through the COVID crisis since March has been dissolved - 9 days before the election, when Prime Minister Dean Barrow, who chairs it, demits office.
A release says the NOC held its last meeting today.
Their final decision was to support in part a request from the Banana Growers Association for the imposition of an 8:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. curfew in villages in the Banana Belt.
That's because there has been an outbreak of COVID-19 - resulting in rapid spread and many infections on the Banana farms.
In their appeal to government, the says that it fears that without some intervention from Government, the transmission will spread in the villages and on the farms, forcing closures in an industry that remains an important foreign exchange earner.
But, like we said Government only granted the BGA's wished in parts. That growers' group had asked for 13 villages to be placed under curfew; but the NOC decided that for now it would mandate the curfew only for the villages of Bella Vista and Santa Cruz.
The curfew is to last for 14 days and will be accompanied by a prohibition on the sale of liquor. A further announcement will be made regarding the start date for the legal restrictions.
