The Belize Police Department, however, provides a very different account of what took place. According to a report issued earlier today, PC Dawson failed to stop at the vehicle checkpoint that was set up outside of Orange Walk Town. When he floored the vehicle, officers immediately gave chase and an exchange of gunfire ensued. They […]
A new statutory instrument to address the surge in COVID-19 cases was introduced by the Ministry of Health and Wellness on Thursday evening. The fifty-five page document succeeded an appearance of health officials on government’s bi-weekly Up 2 The Minute social media broadcast during which Dr. Julio Sabido broke down the new measures. Those incoming […]
According to Dr. Sabido, there will be a slight relaxing of the nightly curfew, but only if the daily positivity rate decreases by November first. Dr. Julio Sabido, Ministry of Health & Wellness “Churches are allowed to open and to open with fifty percent seating capacity, fully vaccinated and observing all public health measures. […]
The Ministry of Rural Transformation, Community Development, Labor and Local Government is moving to modernizes and standardize the trade license regime. This week’s Cabinet brief noted that Cabinet approved the implementation of these reforms. To bring some clarity about how these reforms will affect businesses, News Five spoke to CEO in the Ministry, Valentino Shal […]
This week’s Cabinet brief also noted that for the first time villages will be able to charge for trade licenses. But, in a time of economic hardship when small and micro businesses are already feeling a financial pinch, the concern is that such a reform will bring added strain to small and micro businesses in […]
The chairman of one of those large villages the CEO mentioned told News Five that he supports the Trade Licenses amendment. He says he sees how it can bring much needed resources to the community for development and even employment. We spoke to Ladyville Chairman Bernard Bennett over the phone today. On the Phone: […]
We also asked CEO Shal about the rebound the rice industry in Southern Belize is currently experiencing. Recent images show truck loads of rice being transported from villages in Southern Belize to the rice mill in Big Falls. It’s a promising sign for an industry that CEO Shal says has been neglected for the last […]
People who are posing as tour guides and do not have certification from the Belize Tourism Board can also face penalties if they are caught operating or conducting tours. Today the Belize Tourism Board issued a warning to people who do not have their licence to operate as prescribed under the laws of Belize. According […]
The Statutory Instrument that requires restaurants to accommodate only vaccinated people who can show their cards has begun to impact hotel restaurants. Restaurants presently can only accommodate fifty percent of their maximum capacity, but with the cancellations that hotels have started to see, President of the Belize Hotel Association, Alina Saldivar says their worry is […]
The daily COVID statistics gives us an indication of how bad the infection and death rates are in Belize. On Wednesday, Acting Director of Health Services for the Ministry of Health and Wellness, Dr. Francis Morey shared the startling numbers in a more comprehensive form. The information includes cases from the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital, […]
The Opposition, United Democratic Party, has come out swinging against the Government for, in their view, not making COVID testing readily accessible to the public, forcing many to have to pay for tests done privately. Prime Minister John Briceno denied that claim, saying that the Ministry of Health has opened up more testing sites where […]
A Camalote resident is spending his first night on remand at the Belize Central Prison after he was busted with over eleven and a half pounds of cocaine. Orlando Pascasio was intercepted with the drugs on Wednesday afternoon in Belmopan during a stop and search of his Toyota Sequoia SUV on Trinity Boulevard. Police say […]
It’s been just over a week since fifteen-year-old Kassman Gill, a promising student at Saint John’s College died at the K.H.M.H.. He had been hospitalized for gunshot injuries he sustained fifty-two days earlier. To date, nobody has been charged in connection with his murder, even though there is surveillance footage from the area that captures the […]
The Belize Police Department and the Customs and Excise department have gotten assistance from Central America Regional Security Initiative of the U.S. Government, in an effort to stem transnational crimes. The handing over ceremony was held at the Police Training Academy in Belmopan and a News Five team was there. Duane Moody, Reporting Over […]
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Eamon Courtenay met today with the Secretary of Foreign Affairs of Honduras, Lisandro Rosales Banegas during his official visit to Belize. They held a bilateral meeting aimed at promoting and strengthening cooperation in areas of agriculture and food security, the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, tourism, migration, and […]
This is Mental Health Week and in Belize, anxiety and depression are the most prevalent challenges. According to Mental Health Coordinator in the Ministry of Health and Wellness, Nurse Iveth Quintanilla, COVID-19 also has a significant impact on people’s mental health. Nurse Iveth Quintanilla, Mental Health Coordinator, Min. of Health & Wellness “As we […]
Over the past twenty years, hundreds of children in Belize have received advanced care through the World Pediatric Project. While the non-profit organization celebrates that milestone, there are still many in need of medical assistance. The program model is built upon long-term engagement and continuity of multi-specialty care and capacity-building. Tonight, News Five’s Isani Cayetano […]
By tradition, patients in need of surgery would have the procedure performed by a specialist who would make a large incision into their bodies. Surgeons would later realize that this created unnecessary trauma and subsequently adopted laparoscopic surgery, commonly called a “keyhole surgery,” by the turn of the twenty-first century. Since then, operations have been […]
Dr. Cawich explains that with the advent of COVID-19 last year, it forced many in the medical professionals to rethink their approach to performing surgeries. Dr. Shamir Cawich, Professor of Liver and Pancreas Surgery “When the pandemic hit and I have this here in March 2020 because that’s when the first case in Trinidad […]
On the controversial topic of the proposed Stake Bank causeway, on Tuesday, Chief Environmental Officer Martin Alegria said publicly that permission was given for the project a few years ago under the U.D.P. administration. While the previous Minister of the Environment, Omar Figueroa, had indicated that a public consultation had to be held as well […]
Prime Minister Briceno said that the ten percent salary cut that was applied earlier this year to the salaries of teachers and public officers played a significant part in helping to put the economy in better standing. He also spoke about the Economic Summit scheduled for November. Prime Minister John Briceno “On the second […]
When pressed on whether environmentalists might not welcome the idea of having a bridge that connects Ambergris Caye to the Yucatan, the PM said the impact on the environment would be minimal. Prime Minister John Briceno “There’s this theory that Ambergris Caye was connected to the peninsula. But, there is this theory that the […]
Prime Minister Briceno assured that while there are reports of having three cruise ports in Belize City, he said they have to allow the parties to follow the environmental process and to decide which among them will be the best project for Belize in terms of the economy, the people and the environment. But turning […]
Recently the Ministry of Education announced the reopening of schools – a decision that has received widespread criticism and no less than a doctor who came forth to say that this will cause the COVID numbers to rise even more. But Prime Minister Briceno said today that with the vaccination for children twelve and over […]
The police department says it has successfully cracked a case involving four armed thieves who broke into a residence in West Landivar on Tuesday morning. The aggravated assault against Melinda Guerra and Maria Reyes netted the robbers a tidy sum, as well as a Toyota Hilux that is believed to have been driven across the […]
