Amendments to State of Emergency regulations lift lockdown in Orange Walk villages

By Aaron Humes: Yesterday evening the Government of Belize issued Statutory Instrument Number 122 of 2020, amending the Belize Constitution (Emergency Powers) Regulations, 2020.

Officially, at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, the special lock down for the villages of Guinea Grass, Santa Martha, and Shipyard, Orange Walk District, will expire and they will now be governed by the regulations that currently apply to the rest of Belize.

Special regulations remain in effect for Ambergris Caye.

Under the new amendment, there is a penalty of one year imprisonment for any individual found to be bribing any member of the security forces.

Furthermore, any member of the security forces found to be extorting an individual under the guise of their office is liable to one year imprisonment.

The Commissioner of Police Chester Williams announced this on Monday following multiple reports of persons bribing security officers to get around the fines and jail time attached to violations of the law, and security forces unscrupulously taking advantage of that to make money off the books.

The State of Emergency continues nationwide until September 3 as COVID-19 cases continue to rise, though not at the record pace of recent days.

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