Southside Belize City is on thirty days of lockdown. The Governor-General of Belize declared that effective today, August nineteenth; a public emergency exists in that part of the city. This latest S.O.E. was proclaimed as a result of increasing gang violence in the city, particularly gang-related shootings. Commissioner of Police Chester Williams says the department […]
ComPol Williams says the cabinet agreed that the best option to deal with the spike in gang-related crimes is to instate an S.O.E., considering the fact that the police have been unable to gather sufficient evidence through witnesses and victims for arrests to be made. But, the Briceño Administration has long criticized using state of […]
Earlier today, word spread like wildfire that the national referral hospital was at and above capacity for critical patients. The information being posted on social media was that all intensive care units were full; that the COVID units overflowed and that the surgical ward was full and overflowing to the medical ward. There was also […]
The number of COVID-19 cases now stands at over eight hundred as the positive cases are being identified across the country. The Belize District alone is responsible for almost half of that number. Today, News Five spoke with Deputy Regional Health Manager of the Central Health Region, Doctor Melissa Diaz-Musa about the COVID-19 spread. […]
While it has been confirmed that there are multiple COVID-19 variants in Belize, the delta is sixty percent more transmissible. There is significant spread among households and at workplaces. Doctor Melissa Diaz-Musa says that there is a range of symptoms that residents should make note of. Dr. Melissa Diaz-Musa, Deputy Regional Health Manager, Central […]
On Wednesday, Belize received one hundred and eleven thousand one hundred and fifty doses of Pfizer vaccine courtesy of the U.S. Government. Plans are already in place for administering it to children from ages twelve to seventeen. In the Belize District, there are sixty primary schools and eighteen high schools, and consent forms are being […]
In Orange Walk, Muffles College students will be among the first to be vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine during a vaccination drive for their students on Monday. News Five spoke to Vice-Principal Maria Urbina about the effort to get their students back into the classrooms. Maria Urbina, Vice Principal, Muffles College “We are working […]
Vaccinations for minors from ages twelve to seventeen are to commence on Monday. Parents accompanying their children to the various vaccinations centers across the country will have to submit a consent form in order for their kids to get their COVID jabs. According to Chief Executive Officer Dian Maheia, a schedule will be released so […]
The academic year 2021 is set to commence later this month, with high schools and primary schools reopening on August twenty-third and thirtieth, respectively. The Ministry of Education, on the advice of health officials, has called off the return to face-to-face instructions until the number of infections can be stemmed. Until then, students will be […]
Minister of Education Francis Fonseca empathized with teachers and students who had been anticipating their return to the classrooms this semester. While in-person classes have been called off, the Ministry of Education expects that face-to-face instructions will resume within the first week of October. Francis Fonseca, Minister of Education “We understand and appreciate that […]
The number of secondary school students that will not be returning at the start of the new academic year is alarming, particularly on the south side of Belize City where the dropout rate has been rather high. Since the beginning of the week, several meetings have been held with teachers and principals at high schools, […]
This morning at the House of Culture, the Ministry of Education, now formally known as the Ministry of Education, Culture, Science and Technology, unveiled a new strategy and direction for the next four years. The course of action encapsulates several different strategies, including the Plan Belize manifesto which seeks to address specific areas of academic […]
Governor-General of Belize Froyla T’zalam was the featured speaker at the latest edition of a virtual series called, “A Chat with the O.A.S.” G.G. T’zalam delivered a thought-provoking speech this morning on the importance of cultural education in bridging the social divide. Froyla T’zalam, Governor-General of Belize “We all recognized that educational policies and […]
Earlier this week, News Five announced that Great Belize Productions has dominated the Caribbean Media Awards for best regional productions in 2019 and 2020, winning six awards in five categories this time around. Channel Five’s winning entries are Best Commercial “Sargeant Peppers,” Special Mention for “Long Road to the P.S.E.,” the People’s Choice Award for […]
On Tuesday evening, C.E.O. in the Ministry of Economic Development, Doctor Osmond Martinez indicated on News Five how well Belize’s economy has started to rebound while still facing a pandemic that continues to impact more people daily. But while Belize has done even better than what the IMF prescription had called for and projected, Belize […]
And while the media had him engaged, they asked Minister Coye for an update on the status of the negotiations on the proposed repayment structure for the Superbond, as Belize hopes to be able to convince the representatives of the bondholders to agree to a thirty percent reduction on the payment installments. As has been […]
And still on the topic of economics, Minister Coye explained after the official ceremony outlining the scope of the Summit that there have been some delays in realizing the goals of an amendment to the Central Bank Act 67(1). That amendment allows for the Central Bank to establish emergency programs or facilities through other banks […]
Today, it was officially announced that ground will be broken for the construction of a polyclinic on the island of Caye Caulker. Prime Minister John Briceño, Health and Wellness Minister Michel Chebat and Belize Rural South area rep Andre Perez will be in attendance on Friday for the event. It is an exciting moment for […]
The National Committee for Families and Children was the recipient of a large donation from Transparent BPO this afternoon. Some five hundred bags with school supplies were handed over at its office on the Philip Goldson Highway as the corporate citizen is committed to make a difference in the communities within which its employees work […]
Over fifty students from primary and secondary schools, including those who are members of the police youth cadet corps, today made their way over to precinct three of Eastern Division of the Belize Police Department to collect much-needed school bags and supplies. It is part of a back-to-school drive by the precinct’s Community Policing Unit […]
Because so many people have seen major changes in their lives due to the COVID-19 pandemic, tonight News Five launches a new series, COVID Chronicles. In our first installment, we feature a man who was at the forefront of the COVID fight when the pandemic first began to affect Belize. Doctor Marvin Manzanero, a quiet […]
