Effective February 15, all visitors to Belize must buy Belize Travel Health Insurance. This insurance will protect them against medical and other expenses incurred if they test positive for COVID-19 during their stay.
The insurance will cost US$18 and covers up to US$50,000 in medical expenses related to COVID-19 treatment for 21 days. It will also cover quarantine lodging expenses of up to US$2,000.
Travel Insurance Benefits
The insurance plan comes as the country acknowledged it could not afford another lockdown given the record increase in COVID-19 cases.
The Belize Tourism Board chairman, Evan Tillett, said it provides trip cancellation coverage. “So what it does is to protect the hotel sector as well as protect the guest, in case of the guest can’t come and we are operating in a pandemic, an omicron environment,” he added.
“What we are seeing is that in some cases, guests test positive after they already spent their vacation, and the public health regulation says that it is at the cost of the visitor. Often, these visitors don’t have the monies to pay for it. So, having the insurance provides a level of coverage, a level of safety, for the guest and the industry,” Tillett added.
Tillett said Belize is the latest country to be implementing travel insurance. He noted that Turks and Caicos and Dubai have a travel insurance program, so it is nothing new for the tourism sector. “Given the fact of the importance of the tourism sector in Belize, giving 40 percent of gross domestic product, it is important that we protect our industry, our locals, our guests.”
COVID-19 Caes in Belize
Deputy Manager of the Ministry of Health and Wellness’s Central Health Region, Dr. Melissa Diaz-Musa, says there are now 6,500 plus active cases. “And we have seen between 500 to 1,000 new cases daily from the latter part of last year,” she said.
Belize has recorded 607 deaths and 39,890 infections linked to COVID-19 since March 2020.
CMC/
