Those additional cases have pushed the country over the hundred mark once again. For weeks now, the number of active cases has been low, despite several clusters popping up here and there in schools and at the Princess Casino. But with an additional thirty-eight new cases identified over the weekend, the country now has one […]
Before we get to additional details about the COVID-19 situation in the country, the Minister of Health and Wellness also confirmed that about twenty-five to thirty nurses from the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital are leaving the institution to pursue opportunities outside of the country. Minister Chebat says that millions of dollars have been invested in […]
The Minister of Health and Wellness has once again made an appeal for teachers to get inoculated. Currently about forty-seven percent of the teaching population has received a first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. There is also a campaign to get more Belizeans vaccinated, while working with the business community and opening up phase-four of […]
Later this week, a third shipment of Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine is expected to arrive in country through the COVAX facility. But the Ministry of Health and Wellness is also in the process of acquiring the Johnson and Johnson vaccine. As it relates to the Pfizer and the Moderna vaccines, there is need for cold storage […]
On Monday, Prime Minister John Briceño said in an interview on Channel Five’s Open Your Eyes that Belize’s international bondholders had been playing what he called “hard ball,” but were “shooting themselves in the head.” Well, it seems the bondholders’ approach has changed. This afternoon, Reuters news agency reported that the group of Belize’s creditors […]
Tonight, residents of Santa Cruz Village are on edge after a cluster of twenty-one positive COVID-19 cases has been identified in their community. According to a release from the Ministry of Health, the virus was first discovered in a staffer at the Santa Cruz Primary School on the third of June. Health officials then proceeded […]
Late last week Coast Guard officers came across the lifeless body of an unidentified person fifteen miles off the coast of Placencia Village, near Whipray Caye. Could the deceased be connected to the recent drug plane that crashed off the coast of Placencia less than a month ago? The location where the body was discovered […]
While police are working on identifying the body found off Whipray Caye, they believe they have been able to identify the human remains found in Eldridgeville, on Friday. Police believe they are that of Oscar Garcia, a resident of Independence Village. ACP Joseph Myvett, Head, National Crimes Investigation Branch “This was on Friday last. […]
A man from the Young Bank area of Teakettle Village died on Saturday night under questionable circumstances, reportedly after spending the night out at a popular night club with a friend. He is Julio Cesar Tizol, whose body was discovered along the Young Gial road leading to the Valley of Peace Village. It is a […]
A man has been detained by police following a fatal road traffic accident on the Lemonal Village road. The detainee, who is expected to be arrested and charged, was allegedly riding a motorcycle in the area on Saturday night when he knocked down and killed Thomas Sutherland. Police say the driver fled the scene and […]
There has been a string of vehicle thefts in Benque Viejo del Carmen over the past few weeks, as persons living near the western border are being held up at gunpoint and robbed. Their vehicles are then transported into Guatemala. Police believe that there is a specific group of men behind these robberies; some of […]
Last week, Prime Minister John Briceño was in Guatemala for an official visit with President Alejandro Giammattei. PM Briceño says that it’s the first time a president has invited a Prime Minister from Belize for a one-on-one meeting. He told Open Your Eyes that they discussed a range of issues – from trade to security, […]
On the topic of the so called “super bond,” PM John Briceño says that his government will not continue to pay unless there are further renegotiations. As we told you last week, the bondholders have turned down the request for an extension of the coupon payment that was due May twentieth. Prime Minister John […]
The Prime Minister has been criticized for not engaging with the union leaders in meetings. Today, Open Your Eyes hosts asked PM Briceño about the status of matters with the unions and where they go from here. Prime Minister John Briceño “We have done everything we have been able to do. In my last […]
The public sector emoluments and allowances reduction bill 2021 went before the senate today. You’ll recall that last week Friday, cabinet began the motions to make the cuts effective on June first. U.D.P. Senator Michael Peyrefitte and Senator for the Unions, Elena Smith strongly opposed the bill. Michael Peyrefitte, U.D.P. Senator “Madam President, how […]
Wrapping up the discussions on the bill – Government Business Senator Eamon Courtenay said he took no joy in being a part of implementing the legal frame work for the act to come into force. He said it really was a matter of choosing the lesser of the evils. Eamon Courtenay, Senator for Government […]
Another matter that went before the Senate today is the Commerce Bight Port. Government’s Business Senator Eamon Courtenay opened by sharing that the port was leased for sum of five million dollars to Recological Systems Limited two days before the general elections. Courtenay contends that then Minister Edmond Castro shouldn’t have awarded that lease because […]
The social partners’ senators also weighed in on the commerce bight port. They asserted that the matter may end up in the courts and that should the lease be cancelled, the people of the south may also lose out on job opportunities and an injection into the economy. Here are Senators Salas, Smith, Herrera and […]
And to wrap up the matter, Senator Eamon Courtenay maintained that former Minister Castro didn’t have power to push that lease through. Courtenay also responded to the concerns of employment and litigation risk that other senators raised. Eamon Courtenay, Senator for Government Business “Minister Castro, as he was, didn’t have power under the national […]
The Leader of the Opposition Patrick Faber had to issue a public apology last week when a video leaked of a domestic dispute he had with the mother of his daughter. Since then, two of his colleagues, Shyne Barrow and Tracey Panton, have made public statements to condemn the domestic issue. And then, there was […]
Chairman Peyrefitte also said that there is no report made against Faber or any member of the party. And if there is to be a report, he would take a strong stance against it. He told us today there was a protection order application made against the Leader of the Opposition, but the mother of […]
On June first, the Ministry of Finance issued a press release to say that government was seeking to extend the time of consent solicitation to Friday June eleventh in order to make a Bond coupon payment on October nineteenth. Today, Senator Michael Peyrefitte told the media that it isn’t unreasonable for G.O.B. to ask for […]
For those of you who have been feeling like Belize is now post-pandemic, tonight there is a reminder that we still need to exercise caution. As you know, on Tuesday, there was an additional COVID-19 related death, bringing Belize’s total to three hundred and twenty-five since the start of the pandemic some fifteen months ago. […]
On Wednesday, we reported of a positive case of COVID-19 detected within the staff at Wesley High School in Belize City. Two weeks earlier, a number of students had tested positive at two primary schools; they were closely related to an outbreak that was detected at the Princess Casino. In all instances, there are protocols […]
Minister Chebat says that it is even more important that teachers get vaccinated because they are the first line of protection for the children who are expected to return to classrooms for in-person learning come August or September when schools reopen. Michel Chebat, Minister of Health & Wellness “This is the only way to […]
