As for the deaths caused by COVID-19, Minister Chebat says the highest percentage is among the unvaccinated. To date, only two persons who were vaccinated died, and Minster Chebat says they both had severe underlying conditions. These deaths represent just four percent of Belizeans hospitalized with COVID. Also, a younger population is dying by the […]
Belize Rural North Area Representative Marconi Leal Sr. remains hospitalized at Belize Healthcare Partners Limited where he is receiving medical attention for COVID-19. On Tuesday afternoon, Leal, who is unvaccinated, was admitted to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital and placed on a ventilator when his oxygen level had decreased considerably. He was later transferred to […]
Reports are that Marconi Leal Senior, the area representative for Belize Rural North, was rushed to the K.H.M.H. for treatment for COVID-19. Reports are that Leal’s oxygen levels had gone dangerously low. News Five confirmed a short while ago that Leal has been transferred to the Belize Health Care Partners where he remains on oxygen […]
Pregnant women are being urged to get their COVID-19 Pfizer vaccination, following four maternal deaths over the last four weeks. The Ministry of Health and Wellness says the vaccine expectant mothers need is the Pfizer which is given in two doses, with twenty-one days between doses. This is available at vaccine centers. While there sometimes […]
A young mother-to-be lost her battle with COVID-19 over the weekend. It is the fourth maternal death to be confirmed in the country within the past four weeks. Thirty-one-year-old Nicole Baptist was hospitalized with a severe case of the virus and was receiving medical attention when she passed away. Her death is particularly tragic because […]
With numbers increasing exponentially via community spread in Belize City, the surge in COVID-19 cases continues to stretch the resources that are available at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital extremely thin. These include personnel, as well as equipment. As it stands, the K.H.M.H. can accommodate as many as twenty-three hospitalized patients in its COVID Unit. […]
A new Chief Executive Officer for the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital is expected to be announced within the next two weeks. As we’ve reported, two candidates, including Doctor Michael Tewes and Nurse Chandra Cansino, a general manager at the Social Security Board, applied for the post and were interviewed by the K.H.M.H. Board. It was […]
The Ministry of Health and Wellness has announced that the Johnson and Johnson COVID-19 vaccine is now available at all vaccination sites. This is a one-dose vaccine and the body starts developing immunity two weeks after receiving it. Please check local health centers or the Facebook page of the Ministry of Health and Wellness for […]
Why have COVID-19 restrictions not being lifted for Belizeans who are fully vaccinated? That was a question posed by the Leader Opposition to the Minister of Health and Wellness Michel Chebat. He said not enough people have been vaccinated yet. Michel Chebat, Minister of Health and Wellness “It is a valid one madam speaker, […]
Leader of the Opposition Shyne Barrow will be nominating a medical professional for the National Medical COVID-19 Response Team. When he asked Prime Minister John Briceño about the reconvening of the National Oversight Committee, the PM revealed that the Opposition did not respond when an invitation was sent to designate a nominee to the response […]
With the increase in active COVID-19 cases, the situation at the national referral hospital is worsening. A memo issued by the acting Human Resources Director, dated September second says that the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital is in emergency mode. The healthcare facility is in phase three of its COVID-19 response plan which has been activated. […]
As the number of active COVID-19 cases continues to rise at a rapid rate, several businesses and government offices have had to shut their doors for sanitization purposes. Over the last three weeks, at least five public offices have had to close their doors. In the second week of August, the Belize Port Authority closed […]
The Central Medical Laboratory has been consumed with endless testing since the advent of COVID-19 last year. But amid the flood of samples, the lab is also preparing to establish a mycology unit, an area designated for the study of fungi and yeasts. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was instrumental in donating lab […]
A group of about twenty or so business owners and artists within the dining and entertainment industry have signed a petition and sent it to the Ministers of Health and Wellness and Home Affairs. They are asking for special exemptions from the restrictions placed on restaurant license holders in the Belize District limiting customer capacity […]
Five healthcare facilities in Belize are being retrofitted to become safer during disasters, more energy efficient and greener. The Palm View Center in Belmopan became the first to be certified under Smart Health Care Facilities in the Caribbean Project Phase Two Project. The initiative is supported by the United Kingdom Department for Foreign, Commonwealth and […]
Earlier in the newscast, you heard the story of a petition signed by stakeholders in the dining and entertainment industry. In our last episode of the COVID Chronicles, we highlight the many entrepreneurs and diverse businesses that were birthed out of the pandemic. Tonight, we look at the flip side of things as well-established businesses […]
Also related to COVID-19 regulations, News Five asked Minister of Home Affairs Kareem Musa about the decision made by his colleague, Minister of Health and Wellness Michel Chebat, to offer special exemptions for a wedding at the Belize Biltmore Plaza. We wanted to find out too if there is any consequence for failing to gazette […]
The infection rate, as it pertains to new COVID-19 cases in Belize District, has ballooned over the past few weeks. Those numbers have more than doubled since August eleventh, prompting the Ministry of Health and Wellness to move away from describing the proliferation as a cluster. What we are experiencing, according to Doctor Melissa Diaz-Musa, […]
On August twenty-third, minors between the ages of twelve and seventeen began receiving initial doses of Pfizer vaccines. Across the country, as many as twelve thousand teenagers have received their first shots. A campaign that is being launched by the Ministry of Health and Wellness that will have nurses visiting primary and high schools to […]
Doctor Cuellar’s infection is what is being described medically as a breakthrough case. While there are instances of breakthrough cases in which a patient dies, other factors such as morbid obesity or other underlying health conditions are contributing factors. Or perhaps COVID was contracted before the vaccinations took full effect. One of the doctors who […]
Doctor Fernando Cuellar has been at the forefront of the fight against COVID-19, being extremely vocal about the need for Belizeans to adhere to the existing regulations. Since vaccines became available in-country earlier this year, the well-known healthcare professional has also been the voice of the vaccination initiative. But when he contracted the deadly virus […]
The experience of having COVID has strengthened Doctor Cuellar’s resolve. Having survived the life-threatening ordeal, the well-known internist says that individual responsibility lies with each of us to adhere to all regulations. Dr. Fernando Cuellar, COVID-19 Patient “In a way I am very grateful for having lived through it because I can relate to […]
Last week social media accounts blew up with posts and comments condemning what many thought was a privileged approval granted to a well-to-do Indian couple to hold their wedding and reception at the Best Western Belize Biltmore Plaza Hotel. The Ministry of Health and Wellness received considerable flak for the decision, which we later learned […]
In an update to our story on the San Ignacio Hospital COVID cases among the staff a few days ago, the Ministry of Health and Wellness announced today that all those diagnosed with COVID-19 during the third week of August have now been medically cleared. The ministry says their surveillance and administrative teams continue to […]
Two doctors who died of COVID-19 last December were honoured today on the occasion of their birthday. Twins, Doctors Kevin and Kenneth Guerra, were happy and healthy and very much present to celebrate their birthday together on August thirtieth, 2020. But one year later, their families, still grieving, had to observe their birthday today through […]
