What Happens with Unvaccinated Teachers?

Francis Fonseca

October fourth is the proposed reopening date for face-to-face school instruction. And while the vaccination rollout is underway for children twelve to seventeen, G.O.B. has been working with the Belize National Teachers Union to have as many teachers as possible get vaccinated. But what’s the plan for those unvaccinated teachers, who we are told will have to produce a test every four days? Education Minister Francis Fonseca says that they are discussing it.

Francis Fonseca, Minister of Culture

“We’ve worked along with the Belize National Teachers Union to educate our teachers, to answer every question that they have, to respond to every concern they have with professional expert public health advice. You will still have some who are unwilling to take the vaccine and for them, then they are going to be required to be tested. So that’s an important issue. But we have also had a discussion about the testing and making that more available and accessible and certainly cheaper. If we can make it free for our teachers, we will do so. We are working on that, but those are the things that we will have to do. But we have to get as many people vaccinated as possible.”