M.O.H.W. Closing Down Village Churches

Michel Chebat

And there is bad news tonight for some rural churches who have not heeded Ministry of Health warnings.  Health and Wellness Minister Michel Chebat says that the data is showing increasing numbers in some villages due to church gatherings. While he declined to name which ones today, he says G.O.B. will be closing down these places of worship effective next week.

Michel Chebat, Minister of Health & Wellness

“Throughout the country, we are looking at the villages where we have increasing numbers. A lot of the index cases are arising from places of worship. We have asked before, we’ve asked the churches to please control the numbers, to please make sure that their members are observing the public health measures. It has not been happening and so as of Monday, we will also be closing down those places of worship in these villages where we have expanding numbers. And this again is to safeguard the health of the Belizean people. It cost the Government of Belize; it costs the taxpayers of Belize millions of dollars. And so we’ve implemented the public health measures, we’ve seen that people have fallen back on it, they are not observing them, and as a consequence we are seeing an increase in numbers and so we must tighten the rope a little bit to safeguard everyone.”

Minister Chebat confirmed that three villages in Toledo remain on lockdown until the end of the month. He says that there is a possibility that other villages may be locked down too, but he is awaiting reports from the teams on the ground.