Families Can Bring Christmas Dinner to Inmates, But Bring Your Vaccination Card too
‘Tis the season to be merry and the inmates at the Belize Central Prison will be allowed certain privileges this year – that is, the ones who have not been naughty but nice in their attitudes towards authority in 2021. C.E.O. of the Kolbe Foundation, Virgilio Murillo told News Five that while inmates will be allowed to receive Christmas ham and turkey dinner from their families, things will be done in an orderly and COVID-safe manner.
Virgilio Murillo, CEO, Kolbe Foundation
“We opened up back visits, I think on the first of December. So, we now have in person visits, where the family members can come and look for their loved ones. And one of the things we do around this time is afford the inmates, once they behave good, an opportunity to receive two slices of Christmas cake – not black cake though because of the rum that would normally be in it – but white cake. And they’re afforded the opportunity to receive a plate or two of home-cooked turkey dinner. Yeah, and that’s a privilege that they will enjoy once they are on good behaviour.”
Marion Ali
“For Christmas, what is served here?”
Virgilio Murillo
Virgilio Murillo
“We would normally do baked chicken for them and rice and beans, so they’ll get a good meal from the prison. But if their loved ones want to bring two plates of turkey dinner for them, they’re free to do so.”
Marion Ali
“Okay, how do you control that process in as far as COVID is concerned?”
Virgilio Murillo
“Well, we have all our COVID protocols in place and it works because I will tell you that today the prison has no cases of COVID. Literally, we’ve had only three hundred and forty-three cases recorded since the pandemic began in – that was back in 2019 (2020). Belize had its first case in March and since March, we’ve only recorded three hundred and forty-three cases. So the protocols do work, the hand hygiene, the face masks, whatever else that is used to prevent COVID from spreading.”
0:02:90 You are required to bring your vaccination card. So that is one of the requirements. We’ve allowed them to, if they don’t have the physical card, they should at least have it on their phones so we can view it and see if they’re properly vaccinated.
