General Provisions of the State of Emergency

Belize Constitution-Statutory-Instrument-No.-46-of-2020-Re-COVID-19

SI-47-of-2020-Belize-Constitution-Emergency-Power-Amend

THE CURFEW

• The Government of Belize (GoB) has declared a one-month State of Emergency in an effort to curb the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID 19)

• A curfew from 8:00 p.m. to 4:59 am has been instituted for the entire country;
• With the exception of Essential Workers, no person should be on the streets or in any public place or road during the curfew hours;

Restriction of Movement During Non-Curfew Hours

• The State of Emergency (SoE) has also placed restrictions on citizens’ movements outside the Curfew Hours
• Between the hours 5:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. (“non-curfew hours”) there shall be no loitering, wandering, assembling, or other types of movement in any public place or road

• Movement (whether by foot or by any other means of transportation) during the non-curfew hours are limited to the following activities:
  • Purchasing essential needs;
  • Attending medical or veterinary attention;
  • Emergencies;
  • An essential worker going to or from work, and/or acting in the scope of his duties;
  • A home-health care provider of services to the sick and elderly going to or from work;
  • Delivery services or other similar operations requiring the movement of personnel for the effective conduct of the business or operations

• During the SoE, an officer of the security services may stop and question any person found moving with an aim to ascertain that person’s motives for moving

The Pass Badge

• Under the SoE, the Ministry of National Security is issuing pass badges as an exception to the aforementioned restrictions; thereby, allowing badge holders to move freely

Operations of Approved Business During Non-Curfew Hours

Group A: Approved from 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

• The following Businesses are allowed to operate during the non-curfew hours from 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.:
  • Fuel stations, fuel depots, LPG suppliers, LPS depots and LPG distributors;
  • Public transportation providers;
  • Bakeries and tortilla factories;
  • Agro-processors, food and carbonated and other beverage manufacturers;
  • Agricultural and aquaculture farms;
  • Fishers;
  • Construction and construction sites (private and commercial);
  • Port operations and services connected with the loading and unloading of ships and aircrafts, delivery at and from ports;

• Waste disposal and sanitation companies and auxiliary personnel;

Group B: Approved from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

• The following Businesses are allowed to operate during the non-curfew hours from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.:
  • Pharmacies;
  • Convenience stores, food stores, supermarkets, meat shops, butchers, distributors and factories of carbonated and other beverages, including spirits (excluding potable water) and food;
  • Financial institutions (including commercial banks, credit unions, money lending institutions, money transfer institutions, pawn shops);
  • Hotels, villas and other rental accommodations for maintenance purposes only, and if these establishments have a restaurant, only take-out or drive thru services are allowed;
  • Markets (agricultural produce, fish and meat);
  • Service of take-out or drive thru’ facility only at restaurants, saloons, diners and the like;
  • International deliver services by International delivery service providers (such as FedEx, DHL, etc.);
  • Domestic delivery services related strictly to meals, groceries, medical supplies and equipment;
  • Mechanic shops, garages and auto parts stores;
  • Store front outlets for essential businesses (public utilities companies);
  • Hardware stores for delivery services only to approved businesses allowed to operate under these Regulations;
  • Wholesalers of goods and services directly related to any approved business as outlined in the Regulation by delivery ONLY. If both a Wholesaler and retailer, the retail portion must be closed as the business should not be open to the general public.

Group C: Approved for All-day and Everyday Operations

• The following Businesses are allowed to operate during all day and everyday of week:
  • Food Mills;
  • Sugar, citrus and other approved food production factories;
  • Oil production and drilling for oil exploration
  • Port operations and services connected with the loading and unloading of ships and aircrafts, and delivery to and from ports.

Group D: Approved from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

• Government offices listed in Schedule II of the Regulations. This includes, but not limited to:
  • Officer of the Prime Minister
  • Ministry of Finance;
  • Attorney General’s Ministry (including Vital Statistics Unit and Belize Companies Registry);
  • The Judiciary of Belize
  • Ministry of Health;
  • The Belize Tax Services Department;
  • The Belize Bureau of Standards;
  • The National Fire Service;
  • NEMO;
  • Central Bank of Belize;
  • Belize Telemedia Limited;
  • The Social Security Board; and
  • Municipal Bodies.

• Speednet Communications Limited (SMART).

Group E: Prohibited Business Activity

• The following types of businesses or business activities are prohibited during the SoE:
  • Casinos and gaming establishments;
  • Spas, beauty salons and barber shops;
  • Gymnasiums (gyms), sporting complexes;
  • Discotheques, bars, rum shops and night clubs;
  • Restaurants, saloons, diners, and other similar establishments (except as it pertains to take out services which are permitted).

Social Distance Remains Key

• Approved Businesses within any of the Groups from A to D are expected to maintain appropriate social-distancing protocols, and this includes taking measures to ensure that customers maintain no less than three feet distance from each other either in or outside the business establishment.

• Within 24-hours of the SoE coming into force, Approved Businesses are expected to place distance markers both inside and outside to achieve the regulated three-feet minimum;

• Proportionate to the square footage of the business, determine the number of persons permitted into the premises;