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Chester Williams - Commissioner of Police
"Each district formation are told that they must do rural patrols and you know the police strength has been boost with BDF and so we are now able to stretch our human resources to areas that we had not been able to do before all with a view to ensure that we can touch every corner of the country and so while the patrol in these areas may not be as frequent as we'd want it or a stationary patrol, the officers do go into the different villages with a view to ensure that persons are complying with the regulations."

The Risk Of Contraband and COVID-19

And while police are covering as much ground and even river banks with patrols, and the government has locked down the borders to all persons - including Belizeans - what about those illegal border crossings, which contraband smugglers use?

They remain active - and part of that is just plain economics - because people feel they can get cheaper products over there - a priority in lean and uncertain times.

But, the police are saying it's illegal and it is a threat to the whole nation's health, and it has to stop. Here's the Commissioner:

Sagicor Saw A Need

And whether urban or remote area Police will need their version of personal protective equipment to carry out duties with minimum risk of exposure. But that's a challenge financially, one that the Commissioner has been raising funds to complete. And there was help today in the form of a $10,000.00 donation from Sagicor Life. The company will make a similar donation to health workers they say that the protection of those on the frontlines of the fight is vitally important.

Face Masks For Many

And, another donation was made to the police yesterday. That's for face masks from the Belize Chinese Association.

They made an initial donation of 1000 medical masks each to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital, the Ministry of Health, and the Belize Police Department.

President of the community Johnston Ou told us more:

As you heard, thousands of more masks are on the way.

Chinese Community, No Longer About Business

We also asked Ou about how the Chinese community, businesses in particular, are handling the COVID crisis at their retail and restaurant outlets. He said it's no longer about business:

The Tests So Far…

And, as we wind down the news, back to our headline story. Belize's COVID patient four, a 55 year old man from San Ignacio is reportedly having respiratory difficulties and has been transferred to the KHMH isolation unit in Belize City.

He is the first COIVD patient in Belize to require hospitalisation. Today, on Ask The Experts, we got an update on the number of tests done so far:

Dr. Marvin Manzanero - Director of Health Services
"In terms of the testing that we did yesterday, the 25 tests we had go in search of particularly of healthcare workers who are having in any signs or symptoms and we are trying to broaden the scope of who is eventually being tested, because as you will know that's what one of the recommendations is to do test and thats what we are trying now to span across the country. In terms of the breakdown, 50% of those tests have been from the Belize District and that includes the outlaying cayes, 12 from Corozal, 10 from Orange Walk, 32 from Cayo, 10 from Stann Creek and 7 from Toledo."

LPG, Going Down

The Central American LPG companies that supply Belize: Zeta Gas, Gas Tomza Limited, and Belize Western Energy Limited are announcing tonight that they are dropping the prices for liquified petroleum gas, better known as butane.

They say that they see the struggle that Belizean families are facing right now due to the State of Emergency and the COVID-19 pandemic. So, they've decided to, quote, "put competition aside to offer you prices that will keep your stoves burning as we do our best to feed our families during these hard times." End quote.

Countrywide, the current price per pound of LPG is 93 cents, and the price per gallon is $4.20. The new reduced prices will be 88 cents per pound and $3.99 per gallon.

These price changes became effective on April 1st, and the LPG companies say quote, "The world prices are shifting and we have amended our prices to reflect the change." End quote.

There Is a Place For The Homeless

Earlier in the news, we told you about the plight of the homeless who are not only extremely vulnerable to the COVID-19 pandemic but could, if infected, pose a threat to the health and well being of the entire populace. Since the story aired we've learned that the NSC and city council are coordinating to utilize the dorms at MCC to shelter the homeless during the quarantine period. Encouraging reports reaching our Newsroom are that by tomorrow the shelter managers should be in place and ready to house the homeless.