And while the minister has made it seem like this will be an easy process either get vaxxed or take a test Belizeans were not too happy about the announcement. Many took to social media, as usual, to air their issues with the soon to be implemented regulation. So the pushback has begun - on social platforms at least, and the minister said they expected it. But are they preparing for the protests and form of illegal activity that may accompany the regulation?
Reporter
"I don't know if you are looking at what's happened in other countries but you might see things like people protesting this, you might see things like more fake vaccine cards coming into circulation, how do you deal with that?"
Hon. Michel Chebat - Minister of Health
"These are all things that are expected, we have all taken steps to tighten the vaccine cards, you now whenever there's a new measure that has such a far reach, we do expect there's going to be some level of push back by some sector of our country but at the end of the day, we have to look at what's in the best interest of the majority of the people of our country and at this point in time, getting the majority vaccinated is by all the evidence what should be done and what is needed."
Courtney Menzies
"What was the opinions of the other people on your COVID team, were they onboard with this or was there some push back from them as well?"
Hon. Michel Chebat
"This is something we've been discussing and clearly it's a new measure and so that there are many questions being asked and so we are gonna do the best that we can to answer all of the questions and put out enough information so that we can quiet whatever concerns there is."
A late evening release from the ministry says that Minister Chebat will be hosting consultations with stakeholders and the public. These consultations - the release says - will provide further explanations on the implementation of the new measures. Dates will be announced in the coming weeks.
