Belize govt postpones decision to implement mandate vaccination policy

Belmopan, Belize: The government has postponed the mandate COVID-19 vaccination, which was about to be in effect from December 15, 2021.

This announcement was made via a joint statement issued by the government and Public Service Union. The statement highlights that Minister of Public Service – Henry Charles Usher, Health Minister – Michel Chebat & the President of the Public Service Union – Dean Flowers held a discussion on the mandate vaccine matter on December 8, 2021.

The meet resulted in the conclusion that the studies show that the COVID-19 vaccines are safeguarding the general public from the contagious COVID virus, and therefore it was decided by the officials to postpone the decision of mandate vaccination policy.

Apart from this, the statement cited that the Belizean government and the Union would work together to gather data on the number of vaccinated public officers, the mortality rate among public officers.

The cost associated with the viral disease will also be monitored.

In addition, the Union, along with the government, would also be working together to effectively enforce and promote the COVID-19 health protocols in the island country.

Earlier this week only, in order to curb the spread of the new COVID variant ‘Omicron’, the Belizean administration has amended the travel bans on the South African countries, according to which passengers arriving from the region would have to quarantine for 10 days upon their arrival.

The COVID-19 infection rate in Belize –

As per the statistics, there are more than 31,033 confirmed infections of the COVID-19 mutant in Belize. On the other hand, a total of 586 individuals have lost their lives to the deadliest COVID-19 virus.

The vaccination data notes that around 57.5 percent of the total population of Belize has received their first dose of the vaccine. In comparison, about 49.1 percent of the population is fully vaccinated against the deadliest pandemic.