BELMOPAN, Belize – Prime Minister John Briceño says Belize has found itself in a third wave of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic despite the best efforts to curb the spread of the virus.
Prime Minister John BricenoBriceno in an address to the nation in which he announced new curfew hours and no movement days, said that for the second consecutive yea “our national celebrations have been greatly curtailed by this pandemic”.
“The world over is dealing with the daily challenges caused by infections and death. Together as Belizeans, many of us have worked hard to limit infections and to follow the advice of the experts at home and abroad. Yet, even with the best efforts of many, we find ourselves in the midst of the third wave of the virus, one that is aggressive and is causing infections at a more rapid pace.”
He said that for Belizeans “who have not been taking this matter seriously” the current situation in the country is “indeed alarming.
“The last report from the Ministry of Health shows that the daily new confirmed COVID cases have been increasing dramatically. Yesterday alone, there were 200 new confirmed cases with a positivity rate of 16.4 per cent. As of yesterday, there were 1, 416 active cases in the country.”
The government said that for the next two weeks, starting on Sunday, mainland Belize will be in a semi-lockdown for two weeks. With the exception of Hopkins, Placencia, Caye, Caulker, and San Pedro, all tourist destinations, cities, towns and villages are subject to a nightly curfew beginning at 7.00 pm and ending at 4.00 am (local time).
“We are once again faced with circumstances that require collective action and so to deal with the precarious situation we currently face to guard the health and economy of the nation and on the advice of our healthcare professionals,” Briceno said.
He said that Cabinet is forced to take drastic measures by enforcing the restrictions including September 26 and October 3 being declared “no movement days, except for medical attention to purchase medication, groceries, or fuel.
“We are implementing these measures because projections from the Ministry of Health and Wellness show that if nothing is done we can expect to see an increase in daily COVID infections of up to two hundred and fifty new confirmed cases,” he added.
Meanwhile, Medical Officer, Ministry of Health & Wellness, Dr. Julio Sabido says the latest measures are expected to avert over 150 hospitalizations over the next two weeks.
“With these new measures we are, or the intention is, that we are going to avert a further two hundred and fifty infections, an additional 150 related hospitalization country wide, 15 ICU admissions, and a minimum of 10 deaths.
“So that is the intention with which these measures were proposed. I think you all know what the situation is at the hospitalized, and how they are overburdened, their staff, nurses, doctors, pharmacists, lab techs, everyone, are tired. And so, with these new measures we are hoping that these health care workers can get a break and get some much needed relief,” he added.
