Minister of Health on Wedding: “I Don’t Know Why It’s Controversial”
On Wednesday, reports that a couple had been given special privileges by the Ministry of Health and Wellness to hold their wedding ceremony at the Best Western Belize Biltmore Plaza Hotel sparked outrage on social media. Many feel while the police are breaking up much smaller family functions, this one had the blessing of the ministry and was a tone-deaf response to the COVID restrictions Belizeans have been living under for months. Today, Minister of Health and Wellness Michel Chebat downplayed the issue, saying there is nothing for people to be alarmed about because there is a provision in the most recent statutory instrument that allows for these types of functions.
Michel Chebat
Michel Chebat, Minister of Health & Wellness
“I don’t know why it’s controversial. If you all reviewed the SI that just came out, you will see that the SI, for the first time, we are giving benefits to those people who are vaccinated to be able to access the casinos. As you all know, there have been a lot of requests across the country for people who are vaccinated to have benefits. So, this wedding was one of those instances where after we were given the list of invitees and the vaccination cards of everyone, we felt it was safe to go ahead and grant that permission. And let me tell you, this is not the first permission we have given. Back in July, we actually gave one for the book launching of Doctor Esquivel. So, this is the Ministry’s way of trying to reach out and experimenting to see how people react to these events. We can’t keep the country locked down. If we’re saying to our people get out and get vaccinated. Across the world you see that people with vaccination have benefits. So this is a part of that.”
Marion Ali
“Is the ministry selective in granting that approval? Is the Ministry selective or is it any grouping that wants to have a gathering of a funeral for that matter?”
Reporter
“…a wealthy group and so people are saying you all are giving preferential treatment.”
Michel Chebat
“No, this is not so. We have given several permissions across the month and so this is not one. This is one that somebody leaked out and I would say with dubious intentions, but this is not the first one. And I am not going around saying “I’ll give you, I’ll give you, I’ll give you.” The basis of the permission is based on vaccinations. That’s the basis. Once you have one shot and you’ve had two weeks, you have coverage. There is a discretion given to the Minster of Health to allow crowds beyond the ten or the twenty-five, depending what it is, and based on the fact that these people produced their vaccination cards, we felt that it was in our discretion to grant the permission and we granted it.”
News Five contacted the Belize Biltmore Plaza general manager Ted Tejada this morning for comment, but he told us he was in a meeting and would respond later. However, at news time, this had not occurred. We also attempted to reach the couple in question, but we were told by relatives that they could not be reached.
