At least twenty persons have been included so far in the mapping exercise relating to the fourth person carrying the virus; this includes his immediate family members and those individuals he came in contact with at work in Belize City. The west has been devastated by the news. San Ignacio Mayor Earl Trapp says the […]
The month-long state of emergency is on its second day and includes a restriction on all out-district travel. With Easter vacation only a week away, plans to visit other parts of the country have since been dashed. With the fourth confirmed case of coronavirus not being classified as an imported instance, stricter measures are being […]
The National Oversight Committee, a multi-agency taskforce chaired by Prime Minister Dean Barrow and Opposition Leader John Briceño, has together agreed that all frontier points and ports of entry must be closed to Belizeans seeking to return to the country. It’s the latest directive given to the respective border agencies and, according to PM Barrow, […]
This afternoon, the Director of Health Services provided more details to the fourth case of the corona virus. Mapping started soon after the results were known involving the San Ignacio area as well as in Belize City where the patient works. Health personnel, who treated patient four at a private facility and then at the […]
One hundred and forty persons have been tested from all over the country for the corona virus. Four are positive: two in san Pedro, one in Belize City and now San Ignacio. It means that the northern and southern parts of the country so are so far without cases. The breakdown shows that fifty percent […]
Thousands have been left jobless in the tourism industry, as well as other sectors, as business comes to a halt. So, in Belize City and the districts, the unemployed persons lined up to collect the promised relief. The programme is called the COVID-19 Unemployment Relief, which will provide one hundred and fifty dollars per family […]
We start tonight’s newscast, with the following matter. At eight o’clock tonight, enforcement of the national shutdown begins in earnest. In the past days, we have been trying our best to adjust to the new normal and to continue to bring you our award-winning newscasts, as well as our daily Open Your Eyes show on […]
As the one-month national curfew goes into effect at eight o’clock tonight, the good news is that there are no new addition cases of COVID-19. The most recent samples carried out by the Ministry of Health, show that the number of cases remains at three, though the next ten days are critical. All three infected […]
Attorney General and Minister of National Security, Michael Peyrefitte was the featured guest on the Ask the Expert webcast today. The hour-long programme was to talk about the regulations included in the S.I. and how it will work for Belize as we entered a state of emergency as of midnight on Wednesday. As you know […]
As the situation evolves, Minister Michael Peyrefitte also noted that there are changes to the Statutory Instrument made by the National Oversight Committee. He explained the sections of two of the primary changes and what the public can expect to come from those revisions initially shared with the public on Wednesday. Michael Peyrefitte, Attorney […]
The nightly Boledo and Sunday Lottery Draw are staples in Belizean culture, but along with the thirty-day national state of emergency comes a suspension of all those games of chance which is administered by the Belize Gaming Company whose contract had been recently extended. On Wednesday, it was said that the game would continue but […]
Essential services include national security. border management and immigration, customs, cabinet and national assembly members, medical and auxiliary services, vet services, ambulance services, public utility workers, private security services, social workers for emergencies, sanitation workers, productive sector, agricultural workers and media workers. So, what are some of the types of establishments permitted to conduct business […]
On Wednesday, essential services employers were invited to submit two names of workers to operate during curfew hours of eight at night to five in the morning. Well, those passes are not coming yet, if you are still wondering. At least they are not coming for this week, according to the Minister of National Security. […]
It has been thirty-nine years since the last state of emergency of this kind was imposed, but at midnight, a national shutdown will kick in across the country placing restrictions on the movement of persons outside of five in the morning to seven fifty-nine at night when a curfew will be in place. Businesses considered […]
The state of emergency includes a strict curfew from eight p.m. until five a.m. During these hours, only some essential workers will be allowed to be out, but their movement is with limitations. The Commissioner of Police Chester Williams explained this morning how officers will treat these persons who will have to present a pass. […]
As you know, a number of persons are already facing charges for not observing social distancing as is required at this time to contain the spread of COVID-19. To ensure that everyone complies with the measures of the state of emergency, police and the B.D.F. will be on the streets checking those persons moving around […]
Even though all entry points have been closed, Belizeans cannot be left stateless and are allowed to re-enter the country. But because persons returning from countries where the COVID-19 is thriving didn’t fully observe self-isolation, they are now being placed in mandatory quarantine. In Corozal Town, a hotel is under heavy guard to ensure that […]
As you have seen, the B.D.F. is on guard at a hotel up north where a number of persons are on mandatory quarantine. This morning, the commissioner said the police should be kept in the loop by the authorities about persons under quarantine. He acknowledges that though people have a right to privacy, if the […]
Belizeans across the country continue to prepare for a nationwide shutdown to come into force on Thursday morning. Tonight, there is more clarity on the latest COVID-19 response and how government’s decision to effect a sweeping state of emergency will affect everyone for the next thirty days. It is mandated that persons who are not […]
In light of government’s recent announcement of a countrywide lockdown, there have been dozens of business owners reaching out to the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition in an attempt to have their doors remain open during the state of emergency. Many of those concerns are not deemed to be essential services and as […]
The legal parameters, as well as the technical details of the state of emergency, are being fine-tuned ahead of the Governor General’s assent to bring it into force. That declaration should be signed at the latest by Wednesday morning. The comprehensive nature of the latest statutory instrument takes into consideration the existing situation in San […]
The media is considered an essential service and will continue to function during the state of emergency. Attorney General Michael Peyrefitte expressly described a number of organizations and businesses that are also considered essential services which will be allowed to remain open during the day. He was also clear in stating that persons employed under […]
A significant sum of money to be borrowed from at least three international financial institutions, including the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, as well as the Central American Bank for Economic Integration, CABEI, has been allocated for COVID-19 relief. Those funds are an aggregate of roughly a hundred and forty million dollars and will, […]
An initially budget of nine hundred thousand dollars was set aside to acquire medical equipment, such as ventilators and other medical supplies needed for the response to COVID-19. There were concerns that the health system did not have an adequate amount of ventilators to deal with any potential outbreak. But there are assurances that Government’s […]
Earlier in his presentation, Doctor Marvin Manzanero spoke about having procured thirty-two ventilators that will be used at public health facilities for those persons having a more severe case of the deadly disease. At present, the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital has ten ventilators; six of which are used in the intensive care unit of the […]
