The Ministry of Health and Wellness says that there is a lot of misinformation and fear as it relates to the vaccines and this has led to a lower than expected number of vaccinations administered. Today, Doctor Natalia Largaespada Beer spoke with the media about why they are championing the vaccines for immunity and what […]
One year ago today, COVID-19 was detected in Belize. Belize’s first patient was a woman in San Pedro. Since then we have recorded over three hundred deaths; been subjected to wearing masks; living under curfew regulations with multiple lockdowns – and the list goes on. Life as we knew it changed. Today we asked the […]
As you know quarantine regulations currently in place since March third restrict the opening of bars, nightclubs and casinos. There is also a curfew from ten p.m. and five a.m. for the entire country. That statutory instrument expires in the middle of the Easter weekend on Saturday April third. So we asked Minister Musa if […]
The rumours about a pending three-weekend lockdown are false. News Five confirmed today with Minister of Home Affairs Kareem Musa that a document getting considerable social media buzz is not about Belize. Minister Musa stressed the lockdown is for another Caribbean country that is seeing a spike in COVID-19 cases. Kareem Musa, Minister of […]
The rollout of the COVID-19 vaccination program continued today at various stations across the country, including the S.J.C. gymnasium where the leader of the United Democratic Party was inoculated. This morning, Collet Area Representative Patrick Faber showed up to get his shot of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Not only was he eligible to get a jab, […]
The Covid-19 vaccine roll out has been moving rapidly, so rapidly that in Belize City, they are already in phase two. Vaccinations for teachers began on Thursday, so educators are being urged to go to any of the clinics or school sites offering the free shots as soon as possible. Media workers are also being […]
And finally tonight, the Ministry of Health and Wellness is reporting a dramatic drop in Covid-19 cases countrywide with only one new confirmed case, two new recoveries and no deaths. The M.O.H.W. is however urging everyone to continue wearing a face mask properly in public, maintaining physical distance and avoiding social gatherings.
Lab technicians across the country are being trained in the detection of severe fever-related illnesses, including COVID-19, using modern technology. A partnership between the Ministry of Health and Wellness and Baylor College of Medicine in Texas has led to a cohort of lab techs learning how to identify a variety of diseases using samples from […]
Prior to the partnership with Baylor, Belize’s capacity to diagnose certain illnesses was limited and the turnaround time for samples sent abroad for testing was rather lengthy. What the technicians are also learning is how to detect other variants of the COVID-19 virus. Dr. Kristy Murray, Professor of Pediatrics “Before we started this, capacity […]
Seventy-one-year-old Gwen Jackson, a Belizean-American visitor, arrived at the P.G.I.A. this morning where she was required to present a negative COVID-19 test result. Believing that the document she presented to local health officials was valid, the New Yorker grew livid when she was asked to take another test which she had to pay for. As […]
Belizeans are encouraged to get vaccinated against COVID-19, despite growing concerns elsewhere regarding the side effects of the Oxford-AstraZeneca shots. At least twelve countries within the European Union have halted use of the serum, following claims that it has led to blood clots. Severe reactions to the vaccine have been minimal when compared to almost […]
There are fifty-five active cases of COVID-19 in the country, with six new infections and six recoveries being recorded today. Fortunately, there are no new deaths to report on this evening. In fact, the COVID Unit at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital has gone without a single patient for several weeks. It is marked improvement […]
The Ministry of Health and Wellness COVID-19 daily report for March to thirteenth through to the fifteenth shows that there are thirteen new COVID-19 infections. There are a total of fifty-seven active cases; twenty-seven of whom are women and thirty are men. There are seventeen new recoveries. There are no deaths to report today which […]
The Belmopan Civic Centre was today transformed into a vaccination centre for the first phase of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. Before midday, over one hundred had come out to get their jabs and headed back home with a renewed level of confidence to move around. News Five’s Duane Moody reports. Duane Moody, Reporting From […]
Simultaneously, over at the COVID-19 Unit of the Western Regional Hospital, Minister of Health and Wellness, Michel Chebat visited the vaccination centre there where he got the first of his two shots. While parliamentarians are among the second phase of the vaccination rollout plan, Chebat confirmed with the media today that he is included as […]
But are people jumping the queue? The first phase of the vaccination rollout plan was for frontline healthcare workers from COVID-19 units. It also included persons sixty years old and over as well as persons who are HIV positive and dialysis and cancer patients. So when we saw recently appointed Belizean Ambassador to Guatemala Jose […]
Since the COVID-19 was first detected in Belize, there have been a total of twelve thousand three hundred and fifty-nine confirmed cases. Of those figures, three hundred and sixteen fatalities have been recorded and eleven thousand nine hundred and seventy-two have recovered. Fortunately, the number of active cases is down to sixty-five, despite four new […]
With COVID-19 figures on the low, will the quarantine measures currently in place be lifted? It comes to an end on Saturday, April third, in the middle of the Easter holidays. Health and Wellness Minister Michel Chebat says don’t be surprised if it is extended. Michel Chebat, Minister of Health & Wellness “What continues […]
The Southern Regional Hospital has secured funding from the Government of Japan to purchase new ambulances. On Thursday, the Japanese Ambassador Kazuhiro Irgu presented a check for almost four hundred thousand dollars to the medical facility. The handing over is the result of an application made by the management team at the Southern Regional to […]
The plight of Doctor Marvin Manzanero, the embattled Director of Health Services, is unresolved, despite the fact that his duties have been delegated to others in the Ministry of Health and Wellness. Earlier today, the National Trade Union Congress of Belize issued a statement condemning the manner in which the ministry has handled the issue. […]
The decision to sideline Doctor Manzanero from his duties as the legally appointed and commissioned Director of Health Services has raised the ire of many in the public service. While the prime minister agrees with and supports the decision to have him replaced, he admits that the manner in which Doctor Manza was benched could […]
As the COVID-19 active cases continue on their downward trend, many recovered patients are at home with their families. Now, one is giving back to his community clinic. In Independence Village this morning, the polyclinic received a brand new desktop computer, printers, standing fans, refrigerator and bed sheets courtesy of COVID-19 survivor Jose Lafarga. Lafarga, […]
First, it was frontline healthcare workers from COVID-19 Units across the country and now it’s time for another vulnerable group as the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine really kicks off. Over the weekend, G.O.B. acquired an additional twenty-five thousand doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine from the Government of India. Since then, the Ministry of Health […]
Another shipment of COVID-19 vaccines was met with much fanfare on Monday afternoon by the Government of Belize. A delivery of twenty-five thousand doses of AstraZeneca shots arrived via a United Airlines flight at the P.G.I.A. where it was met by the Minister of Health & Wellness, officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and […]
With additional vaccines arriving from India on Monday, the rollout begins for non-medical personnel. The Ministry of Health is circulating a flyer with numbers you can call to register for your vaccination when your phase becomes available. In case you missed it last week, here is the order of priority for vaccinations. For Phase One, […]
