As we reported last night, a security guard from the Northern Fishermen Cooperative in Belize City was robbed of twenty-five thousand dollars in cash on Thursday evening. Linsberg Diaz told police he was walking towards the office on North Front Street when he was accosted by two armed thieves. The men relieved him of a […]
There’s a tragic story from the West as a young man being hailed as a hero drowned. Witnesses say David Klassen was trying to save a child in the river when he went under and never came up again. After an extensive search, this afternoon members of the Belize Coast Guard, Spanish Lookout Emergency Response […]
This afternoon, the Belize Police Department confirmed the recovery of a body from the Belize River believed to be that of twenty-eight-year-old David Klassen. According to Assistant Superintendent Fitzroy Yearwood, Klassen almost made it across the river to rescue a person in distress when he went under and did not resurface. ASP Fitzroy Yearwood, […]
The most recent Cabinet briefing indicated that the Prime Minister and his cabinet ministers are exploring the possibility of imposing mandatory COVID vaccinations or to require vaccination passes for people using public spaces and business facilities. The announcement has triggered a debate about how legal such a move would be. While News Five’s efforts to […]
But there are some who feel they have a legitimate argument to challenge the Government in a court of law over the measure. Matura says their argument might not be that strong in her opinion. Audrey Matura, Attorney-at-law “The argument I would make for a client is the options you gave me, are they […]
Matura is of the view that Belizeans have not latched onto the notion of taking the vaccine because people simply have lost trust in our political leaders over time. Audrey Matura, Attorney-at-law “People are acting out of fear. There are a lot of people who don’t understand. There’s now access to all kinds of […]
With COVID cases on the rise across the country, all eyes are on the national referral hospital. Many Belizeans are wondering what the situation is there and how the staff is coping. News Five’s Isani Cayetano was at the hospital today for the latest developments. Isani Cayetano, Reporting A surge in the number of […]
The push to get the majority of Belizeans fully vaccinated is a mammoth undertaking that cannot be understated, given the present number of COVID-19 cases. Health officials, along with medical personnel at all hospitals, including K.H.M.H., have been working overtime to stem the spread of the disease. The K.H.M.H. staff has been and remains on […]
The Belize Medical and Dental Association has come forward with some strong recommendations for actions they want the government to take in response to the presence of the Delta variant and the rising number of COVID cases in Belize. These begin with a change in the curfew which they want to start at seven p.m. […]
Other recommendations by the B.M.D.A. include no more indoor dining, closing all bars and casinos, strict monitoring of public transport, working from home where possible and no face-to-face school until vaccinations for children are available. Doctor Wright says that while their recommendations were just tabled today in the public domain in the form of a […]
Commissioner of Police Chester Williams says the Belize Police Department is simply enforcing the law when he issued a memo last week instructing all regional and sub-station commanders to have their officers abide by S.I. Seventy-Four. The statutory instrument requires all persons deemed as “frontline workers” to present either their vaccination card or negative COVID […]
Commissioner Williams admitted that the department sent home some officers on Tuesday and some more today. He said that between both days, about thirty officers have been sent home, but of that number, many of them have gone to get vaccinated or to get their PCR test done and returned to work. His reasoning is […]
The Ministry of Health and Wellness today also issued a release on restrictions on social gatherings, reminding the public that it is not permitted at this time. It warns businesses to desist from promoting such activities. The ministry called on key social partners including local municipal administrators and the private and public sectors for cooperation […]
The Commissioner of Police admits a lack of proper police enforcement is a problem when it comes to the public respecting COVID regulations. He has strong words for those in charge of certain communities. Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police “We do have significant parts where people are not in compliance. I can tell you, […]
Since reopening in July, cruise tourism has been off to a slow start, with only one ship docking per week in the Belize City Harbour. Today, however, the Belize Tourism Board responded to reports that the Carnival Vista which arrived this morning with almost three thousand guests had twenty-six crew members and one passenger infected […]
Last week craftspeople and other vendors at Altun Ha Archaeological Site were told they would have to show proof of vaccination or have their stalls closed down for this week’s “bubble tour” of cruise ship visitors. Marion Ali was at the site this morning to see what happened and if people complied. Marion Ali, […]
On Tuesday, Attorney for the Belize Police Association, Dickie Bradley told News 5 that considering that a significant portion of the Department’s members have not gotten vaccinated, threats to send them home would mean several hundred would not be on the job in accordance with Statutory Instrument seventy-four. For that to happen at a time […]
On Tuesday, word spread that someone in the Prime Minister’s Office had tested positive for COVID-19. News Five confirmed that everyone has been tested and that was the only positive case, someone who was out of the country for the past two weeks and therefore did not interact with other staff. The Prime Minister, who […]
There was an execution-style murder in Corozal Town this morning when a thirty-year-old resident of Chan Chen Village was gunned down while purchasing food on South Street. Eder Hall was placing an order at the deli when an unknown man appeared on the scene and stood beside him. That individual, it is reported, then produced […]
Jasmine Hartin appeared in San Pedro Magistrate’s court, but not for her manslaughter by negligence charge in connection with the death of police superintendent Henry Jemmot, but for common assault on an employee of a resort in San Pedro and a drug possession charge. However, her attorney, Dickie Bradley asked the magistrate Christina Perrera to […]
As we told you last night, the Ministry of Health and Wellness, with assistance from Baylor College of Medicine detected four variants of COVID-19 in Belize. Eighty one COVID-19 positive samples were processed. From that number three resulted positive for the Epsilon variant. Five resulted positive for the Alpha V1 variant. Nine resulted positive for […]
The verdict is in: not only does Belize have the Delta variant of COVID, we also have three others. This evening, the Ministry of Health and Wellness announced that test results from samples sent to Baylor College of Medicine in Texas are back after weeks of waiting. From a total of eighty-one people diagnosed as […]
Not surprisingly, most of the news coming from this week’s cabinet meeting centered on the COVID-19 epidemic. But it seems the government will move away from its strategy of simply encouraging Belizeans to get vaccinated and may take a stronger approach. According to the weekly cabinet brief, the Prime Minister and his cabinet have asked […]
And while our fears that the Delta variant is present in Belize have been confirmed, today the attorney for the Belize Police Association, Dickie Bradley told News Five that sending home police officers for not presenting their COVID vaccination cards or a COVID negative test result may be worse than not. Bradley was making reference […]
A number of police officers contacted News Five today to say they had been sent home this morning. While they would not appear on camera, attorney Dickie Bradley says that up to now, the number of police officers who remain unvaccinated stands in the hundreds. He says they have a valid concern about their inability […]
