That same SI also institutes changes to the mandatory COVID testing regulations for persons travelling to Belize. There is now an exemption from testing if a traveler has proof that he or she has been immunized against COVID-19 with any of the approved vaccines.
The Belize Tourism Board has created a new graphic to note the exemption from COVID testing if the traveler has proof that he or she has been immunized. They say that visiting Belize is as easy as 1, 2, 3...
Step 1, a traveler has to download the Belize health App and complete the required information within 72 hours of his or her flight to Belize.
Step 2, if a tourist enters Belize through the airport and can provide proof of COVID-19 immunization, that tourist is no longer required to present a negative test for entry. Belize will accept an official vaccine card reflecting the receipt of the two-dose vaccine or the single-dose vaccine at least 2 weeks prior to arrival.
If the tourist cannot provide proof of immunization, he or she has to take a PCR Test within 96 hours of travel - it's no longer 72 hours.
Step 3, the tourist has to wear his or her mask, practice physical distancing protocols and enjoy the Belize experience.
Former Hol Chan Chairman Rebuts Minister
Viewers will remember a press conference from 6 days ago in which Andre Perez, the Minister of the Blue Economy the Civil Aviation, came out swinging against the former management team of the Hol Chan Marine Reserve.
Perez and his team told the general public, according to preliminary reports from an audit he commissioned into this statutory board, the former management is allegedly at fault for financial losses to HCMR. He asserted that the audit is starting to show that almost 4 million dollars from the reserve were mismanaged, and an additional 1.7 million may be lost as bad debt.
Well, several days later, Kevin Gonzalez, the Former Board Chairman of Hol Chan has released a recorded statement of his own. In it, he refutes any allegations of mismanagement, and he goes even further to suggest that Perez has launched an unfair political attack against him and those who were working at the reserve during his tenure. Here are a few excerpts of his statement in response to the Minister:
Kevin Gonzalez - Former Board Chairman, Hol Chan
"I look forward to beginning the process of rebutting the allegations and accusations made in a recent press conference against the Board of Directors, of which I was Chairman. First, let me say that we have a genuine love and appreciation for the Hol Chan Marine Reserve. We believe strongly that in all my efforts on behalf of the organization, we have acted honorably, legally, and with the knowledge and approval of the appropriate executives in the organization, with the sole purpose of support and strengthening the Hol Chan Marine Reserve."
"The allegations made against the Board are based on an audit process that has started, but has not yet been completed, and come from an administration that is seemingly looking for every opportunity to eject hard-working employees from their posts, in order to replace them with party loyalists. That the press conference was held a week away from municipal elections, before a formal audit report was produced, further brings this into question. The press conference held on Wednesday, February 24th, 2021, by the Minister of Blue Economy and Civil Aviation was replete with misinformation; and examples cited are inconclusive of decisions taken well before my tenure. And for those under my tenure, [a] paper trail exists. The decisions followed due process were reviewed by internal and external parties, demonstrating that at all times, we had no intent to violate the law or to advance any personal profit or benefit."
"The board of Directors has nothing to conceal from public scrutiny, and we will refute these allegations leveled against us by political detractors."
Currently, the former management has a paid advertisement running in select media houses that highlight community contributions and accomplishments of the HCMR during their tenure from 2016 to 2021.
CXC Says...
Belize, like other nations of the world, is finally starting to immunize against the deadly COVID-19 virus, which has forced the closure of schools for a year now. But, although high school and 6th form students have had to study from home, the regional exams, known as the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC), and the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination, are pending.
The Caribbean Ministers of Education met at the Council for Human and Social Development (COSHOD) the last week Friday and Yesterday. They have decided that the Caribbean Examinations Council will administer these regional exams from the 14th of June until the 16th of July. At an impromptu press conference held yesterday, the COSHOD Chair had made the announcement publicly. Here's what he had to say that virtual press conference:
Hon. Jeffrey L Lloyd - Chair of COHSOD
"The COHSOD has agreed, a, that the CXC should administer the cape, CSEC, CCSLC examinations in their original format, that is for CAPE and CSCE, papers 1, 2, and 3, and CCSLC, papers 1 and 2. B., that the examinations are best-scheduled during the period June to July 2021, with results being available to the Ministers of Education in the last week, September 21. C., that an extension should be given for the deadline in which students can make a determination to defer the sitting of the exam. All candidates will be required to indicate their intent for deferral by 1st May 2021. D, that taking into consideration of the loss of learning experience that CXC should share with Ministries of Education, for communication to candidates the broad topics to be assessed on paper 2."
Some CARICOM Member states haven't finished registering all their candidates, but at this time, the Caribbean Examination Council is reporting that over 102 thousand candidates have signed up for the CSEC Exams. Also, over 27 thousand candidates from around the Caribbean have signed up for the CAPE exams. Yesterday, the CEO of CXC explained that they are offering students an opportunity the option to sit the exams at a later date.
Here are the details he shared about how it will work:
Dr. Wayne Wesley - Registrar and CEO, CXC
"There are certain subjects for which the details are not readily specifically available in the syllabus, we will make sure that information is provided. As it relates to the school-based assessment, given the issues being experienced for candidates for 2021, CXC reduced the assessment requirements for SBA to as much as 50% in some instances, details of which were issued in November 2020 to the local registrars for schools and summary posted on the website for candidates. There's also a 1-month extension for submission of all SBA's. CXC will maintain the 100% moderation of SBA's across centers for all subjects. As it relates to deferral, a candidate will be able to defer the January 2022 CSEC sitting or the May June 2022 CAPE, CSEC, or CCSLC session for any subject offered for which they were previously registered. The candidate must indicate an intent to defer from the June-July 2021 examination cycle, the latest date in May 2021. By the first of May is the ideal time. On indicating an intent to defer [to] an alternative the candidate's current registration will be placed on hold, On indicating the intent, appropriate approval at the center level - that's the school - for candidates in school, and LR offices for private candidates must be obtained. Therefore, those students who are registered through schools will obtain such approval at the school level, but those private candidates who want to deter will have to do so through the local registrar's office."
CXC Reviews
Viewers will also remember the discontent coming from students all over the Caribbean about their results last year. They were expecting to perform better than the grades they got, and so, the different nations started reporting that students were making mass requests for their exam papers to be re-graded.
The Caribbean press inquired about that yesterday, and here's what the CXC had to say about all those exam papers that were re-marked:
Dr. Nicole Manning - Director of Operations, CXC
"CXC received a total of 21,450 requests for reviews, and to date, we would have completed - for CSEC over 91%, approximately 92% of those reviews. For CAPE, we would have completed over 93% of those reviews."
"In relation to reviews, we would have positive grade changes - let me just, first of all, say that we had no grade diminished on for any candidate who would have requested a review. Now in relation to the positive grade changes, for CAPE, of the 9,118 completed, we would have had 1.77% positive grade changes, and for CSEC, 0.54%. I want to add though, that given what we would have seen, and what would have been happening due to COVID-19, and CXC always gives consideration for issues of this kind, what we call hardship cases. And so, we would have had further borderline considerations, where we would have seen an 8.28% positive grade change for CAPE, and 9.38% CSEC."
Bze & Guat Foreign Ministers to Meet
The Government is announcing that on Thursday, the day after Municipal Elections, Eamon Courtenay, Belize's Foreign Affairs Minister, will meet with his Guatemalan Counterpart, Pedro Brolo Vila.
They are scheduled to meet at the Office of the Organization of American States in the Adjacency Zone between the two countries. The two foreign ministers will discuss efforts to strengthen relations, which includes reactivating the Belize-Guatemala Joint Commission, the implementation of the Partial Scope Trade Agreement, and enhancing the work of the OAS Office in the Adjacency Zone.
The Ministers are also expected to reaffirm the importance and adherence of both countries to the Confidence Building Measures Agreement, which was signed in 2005.
