And, in other matters coming up in the house today - government was on the defensive after prominent figures in the medical community expressed grave reservations about opening up the country's land and sea borders in 3 days.
The medical professionals are concerned that with the resurgence of COVID cases in neighboring countries, the potential public health risks outweigh the benefits of an increase in tourism traffic.
This morning, the Minister of Tourism spoke on those concerns today:
Hon. Anthony Mahler - Minister of Tourism
"I know that this is a touchy situation or a touchy point for people. I too am concerned about the reopening of the borders. But, I am confident that with the standard operating procedures and the protocols we are putting in place, we will have a safe reopening. If you at the reopening of the airport that some were opposed to in October, and you look at the numbers coming through the airport, you will see the number of positive cases through the airport is minimal. The airport represents about 75% of the overnight arrivals coming into this country. The land borders then - and the seaports altogether [represents] the other 25%. So, you're dealing with much smaller numbers than through the airport, but the protocols will be a little bit more stringent."
"And I want to stress this to the Belizean public. We are not opening the borders for a free-for-all. It is only for tourists who are passing through, or coming into this country, staying at a gold standard hotel, and moving through the country with a gold standard tour operator. It is not for Belizeans wanting to go to Chetumal to party or to hang out."
"Against some critics, we opened the Free Zone that is now providing 1,200 jobs for Belizeans making a decent living to take home to their families. Those people were never working at the time. Tell me how many cases of COVID have been reported because of that interaction with people from Quintana Roo into the Free Zone. There have been at least 77,000 -78,000 people passing through, since the reopening, and there has been no spike, no spread in Corozal or the northern districts."
