| When Will consular Services Resume? Sounds Like…No Time Soon |
| Thu, June 18, 2020 |
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Gilges is scheduled to end his quarantine tomorrow with his first
public and official appearance, which will be an ambulance donation at
the PGIA - assuming the western highway is passable by then.
And while he's eager to get out of quarantine, most Belizeans are just
eager to know when the embassy will re-open for routine consular
services. Students who plan to study in the US and are hoping to get
there in time for the fall semester, and those who need to travel are
among the many who are waiting for the embassy to open. Gilges did not
have any good news for them:
Jules Vasquez
"Is there a date set for the resumption of routine consular services at the
Embassy there in Belmopan?"
Keith R. Gilges- Charge d'Affaires, US Embassy to Belize
"At this point no, there is not. There is a worldwide prohibition against
issuing consular services that is done out of Washington. When they lift
that prohibition, then every embassy will have an opportunity to say, okay,
now we are allowing to open, how can we do it safely and when shall we
start. We are already looking to put those policies and procedures in
place, so once we're able to, we are able to say alright, let's do it but
we need to spread out the interviews more, we need to make sure that people
coming in aren't crossing paths, we need to make sure that the
opportunities as they come in to wash their hands, to do all those things.
We're looking to set those up in advance and once we're given authority
from the federal government back in Washington to reopen, then we will look
to resume services as quickly as possible."
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