Tonight, Belizean students are less than two weeks away from the official start of that long awaited return to school. This iteration has been dubbed hybrid learning, a middle ground between face to face and online classes.

But as we embark upon this delicate transition, the question many are asking is, how prepared are the schools? And that preparation starts with teacher vaccinations. Tonight we can report that all but 8% of teachers have received at least one jab putting schools on a decent track for this January re-opening. Here's more on that breakdown from this morning's Sunup on 7:

Senator Elena Smith - President, NTUCB
"Last count we had, when we met with Ministry, because we do get information from the Ministry of Health and it was at 92%."

Dian Maheia - C.E.O., Ministry of Education

"Actually it's at and I have the numbers. We have a little of 6,000 teachers and we have over 5,000 who have gotten their first dose so that first dose already has already topped 85%, so the numbers kind of because then your full dose and fully vaccinated and everything but that's really encouraging, right, isn't it great. Over 85% with first dose."


Senator Elena Smith

"I think that the discussion we had with the Ministry though has been that listen there is this 8% more or less that at this point in time it seems that if thought it doesn't matter what you get them to be vaccinated and some of them for various reasons, religious reasons, maybe health reasons, they have not been and in our discussions with the ministry it was felt that what we have a high enough number that we can safely return and, we feel the population is rather safe with that number but that we would still encourage as best as we can those 8% who have not gotten their vaccine to do so in light of us returning to the classroom."

Dr Beer On Schools Opening

And while the Ministry of Education is pushing hard to return to some level of face to face learning in January - might there eventually be a push back from the Ministry of Health if the COVID numbers continue to rise as quickly as we have been seeing them this week?

Dr. Beer told us today they will follow the data:

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