The Ministry of Health and Wellness is reporting an uptake in vaccination ahead of the October first change in policy. Over the last few weeks, persons, including children ages twelve to seventeen, have been getting inoculated with one of the four available COVID vaccines in the country. The data shows that one hundred and eighty-four […]
While only one dose of the Janssen vaccine is recommended, all other vaccines are two doses. Doctor Diaz-Musa stresses that you are not fully vaccinated until fourteen days after that second shot. If you haven’t received your second jab, the additional layer of protection is not there and you remain vulnerable. Dr. Melissa Diaz-Musa, […]
The Belize Coast Guard is a law enforcement agency that is taking no chances with COVID-19. So far, ninety-two percent of the military organization has been vaccinated and there are only five of its members that are currently infected with the virus. Commandant Captain Elton Bennett says that they have procedures in place to address […]
To date, there are more than seventeen hundred active COVID-19 cases across the nation, with Belize District experiencing community spread for the past two weeks. More than three hundred persons have died from COVID since the onset of the pandemic. At the current rate, the health system is being overwhelmed with severe and critical COVID-19 […]
The Witconcrete did not sink on Monday as was originally scheduled. The team experienced some unforeseen mechanical issue that has now caused the process to be delayed. Those anticipating this new wreck dive site will now have to wait an additional week or two before the ship meets its final resting place on the ocean […]
As we have reported, San Pedro and Caye Caulker are among the communities enjoying certain exemptions from the recent COVID-19 regulations. On Monday, we spoke with Area Representative Andre Perez, for Belize Rural South, who told us that San Pedro is not out of the woods. In fact, there are seventy-five active cases on the […]
Perhaps, a further silver lining for these two tourist communities, amidst the pandemic, is their high vaccination uptake. According to Perez, eighty percent of Caye Caulker’s population has been vaccinated. Meanwhile, up to fifty percent of the population in San Pedro has also taken the vaccine. Andre Perez, Area Representative, Belize Rural “I am […]
Undocumented immigrants are another vulnerable population that is being considered for vaccination. According to Perez, undocumented immigrants are often fearful of visiting a vaccine center because of their status. He has given assurance that undocumented immigrants will not be penalized when they visit a vaccination center. Andre Perez, Area Representative, Belize Rural South “That […]
You’ve seen them providing musical accompaniment at official ceremonies across the country, especially during September festivities. The Belize Defense Force Marching Band has been in existence for well over three decades. Some of its oldest members have been committed to the band from a young age, like Ivor Cacho who has served in the band […]
Belize has recently seen great representations on the international stage when it comes to pageantry. And Monday, Markeisha Young from Belize City was officially crowned Miss World Belize 2021. She will be representing the Jewel in Puerto Rico in November of this year for the international pageant. That’s two months away and Young will be […]
There is new leadership at the Belize National Library Service and Information System under the Ministry of Education, Culture, Science, and Technology and with that come changes. Chairman Leroy Green is bringing cultural consciousness to libraries across the country and on Monday at the Leo Bradley Library in Belize City, the Creole culture took center […]
Belize’s growing anti-vaccination movement had its eyes set on the Old Capital this weekend where several groups were planning to converge on downtown Belize City to protest the government’s vaccine mandate. Among them was the Belize Rights and Justice Movement, led by former mayor Zenaida Moya who was been vocal in her objection to the […]
As we mentioned earlier, several motorcades were prevented from arriving in Belize City on Saturday and law enforcement officers were deployed to the George Price and Philip Goldson highways to thwart their attempt at protesting downtown. According to Commissioner of Police Chester Williams, with Belize City being the current epicenter of COVID-19, such an activity […]
Attorney Arthur Saldivar and a team of lawyers are preparing to represent up to two hundred claimants in a constitutional challenge against the COVID-19 regulations. His clients, many of whom are from the Mennonite community, are saying that their constitutional rights were infringed upon on Saturday when they were blocked by police in La Democracia […]
Commissioner of Police Chester Williams also spoke on the matter, adding that the constitution provides for certain limitations of those fundamental rights and freedoms. A public health crisis is reason enough for limiting those fundamental rights and freedom, as per the constitution, says ComPol Williams. Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police “You would know that […]
And, with that, the police have been cracking down on the Mennonite community of Spanish Lookout. According to Commissioner Williams, a team of officers went into the community to enforce the COVID-19 regulations, and as a result, a number of tickets were issued. ComPol Williams says the police are not targeting the Mennonite community, but […]
The Belize Council of Churches has come out with a position in favor of COVID vaccinations. In a recorded statement, the heads of various denominations, including Bishop Lawrence Nicasio of the Roman Catholic Diocese, share a unified message urging all eligible Belizeans to get inoculated. Rt. Rev. Philip Wright, Bishop, Anglican Diocese “We long […]
A seventeen-year-old Belize City resident succumbed to gunshot injuries this morning following a shooting on Sunday evening. Michael Henry was travelling in a vehicle along with four other persons when another vehicle drove up and a barrage of bullets was unleashed on them. Henry and another passenger were injured. While Rudolph Gladden survived the attack […]
Less than an hour after the drive-by shooting, shots rang out once again in Belize City and in the same vicinity. Police are reporting that just around six-thirty p.m., two persons on a motorcycle rode past Elsworth Hendy and a female friend who were on bicycles at the junction of Faber’s Road and the George […]
A group of fifty men, all believed to be actively involved in various gang rivalries, was released from the Belize Central Prison over the weekend, at the end of a thirty-day state of emergency that was effected on the south side of Belize City. But was the month-long lockdown effective in calling a ceasefire among […]
In discussing the fatal shooting incident that took place in Belize City on Sunday evening, the top cop says that the police department will focus similar attention on the PIV and Backa-Lands gangs who’ve had a bitter rivalry over the years. According to the commissioner, their proximity to each other, in terms of their respective […]
There was another shooting that occurred on Sunday but is not gang-related. Dean Vaccaro was shot by his relative Albert Vaccaro during an argument in Sand Hill Village just after midday. It is not known what triggered the argument, but it ended with Albert pulling out his licensed gun and firing a single shot at […]
There was also a loss of life reported in the north on Sunday evening. Just after five p.m., seventeen-year-old Luis Martinez, a construction worker of August Pine Ridge Village in the Orange Walk District perished in a road traffic accident in the village. Sixty-three-year-old Eustaguio Sanchez was behind the wheel of his pickup on the […]
As of tonight, the curfew hours start at seven p.m. and go until four a.m. the following day. However, the curfew hours for Ambergris Caye, Caye Caulker, Placencia, and Hopkins go unchanged and will remain from nine p.m. to four a.m. Minors must be within the confines of their home by six p.m. unless accompanied […]
Additionally, Sunday, September twenty-sixth, and October third are declared no movement days. A person will, however, be able to leave home for medical purposes, emergencies, as an essential worker, for food supplies and fuel. Additionally, businesses that provide public transportation and hotels and resorts for the purpose of serving guests, are also allowed movement. ComPol […]
