At the top of the news, we told you how Belize is among 13 countries in the world that is free from all active coronavirus infections for more than 27 days.
That's a great reason to quietly celebrate health and wellbeing, but according to the cops, some Belizeans are behaving as though they are ready to "brukout", and they don't have to obey the State of Emergency rules, which are still in full effect.
And that is reflected in the numbers; this weekend police arrested 156 people for state of emergency violations.
51 were charged for breaching the curfew, and 63 were charged with failing to wear a face mask.
30 more were charged with failing to provide a reasonable explanation or proof for movement outside of the curfew period.
8 people were charged with failing to practice social distancing.
1 person was charged with cross-district movement, and 1 person was charged with engaging in private practice when prohibited from doing so.
Last night, police also had to break up a party at a home in the Saint Martin's area of Belize City. Social gatherings are still prohibited, and so, we asked Police Commissioner Chester Williams to discuss the sudden disregard that Belizeans have for the State of Emergency regulations. Here's what he had to say on that topic:
Chester Williams - Commissioner of Police
"It would appear that some people are of the belief that we're now in an all-clear. And as such, we're seeing that parties are popping up here and there. And police have to be on full alert with a view to identifying where these parties are and disrupt them. Not only to disrupt, [we have] to ensure that those persons who are having these are dealt with. We're still dealing with this pandemic, and the State of Emergency regulations are pretty much still enforced. As police officers, we have a responsibility to ensure that the regulations are enforced for the safety of all our residents. And so, yes, you'll see that from that party in Belize City last night, I think 8 persons were arrested, and I had directed the OC Eastern Division to go back for those who reside at the house. They too need to be charged. I think it's a total of 15 people, so the others should be dealt with today."
Among those 156 persons charged was American Quenton Lavar Askew, who we told you about earlier in the news. He is facing the offences of entering Belize illegally and failing to comply with the directive of the quarantine authority.
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