And while those visions of an overnight and cruise tourist comeback are perhaps slightly fanciful, there's legit good news from Belizeans repatriates coming back from the United States.
Presently when they return, they have to go on a costly 14 day quarantine in a hotel. That measure was introduced when Belizeans had a few dozen COVID cases. But now we have 870 going on a thousand - so is it really fair to ask them to pay for quarantine when most of them will test negative for COVID, which is widespread right in this community?
Today, the PM conceded it is not and that the policY will change:
Rt. Hon. Dean Barrow - Prime Minister
"The protocol for the returning Belizeans either is going to change or may well change in fact I think we went as far as to be definitive currently and we have heard their cries, currently, certainly since last week, the Belizeans who came back had to be quarantined basically for 14 days Dr. Manza had announced I think last week that what he will do to try and shorten that period is to test them at day 7, once you came back negative you would be free to go. He has now said we discussed it this morning, we hear the cries of the Belizeans who say you put me in quarantine, I have to bear the expenses, there is not really a need for me to spend 14 days in quarantine so Dr. Manza is going to test them immediately and if they are negative, they will be allowed to go, won't even have to wear that monitoring bracelet that you seem to be so concerned about last week, in fact, the way things are looking, we haven't made a final decision but we are likely to scrap the need for that. It's not going to appear to be fair if you say to those Belizeans no, no, no, when you self-isolate you are going to have to wear a bracelet even though all those at home Belizeans that have proven positive and are not being put in quarantine that have been told self-isolate at home won't have to wear a bracelet, there, there… you are going to run into difficulties, you are going to face the charge that you are discriminating, so away with the bracelets. We also believe given that there are what? 12 deaths now, the patterns of behavior we believe on the part of Belizeans at home and those repats will change."
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