BELIZE CITY, Tues. Apr. 14, 2020– On March 19, a 38-year-old San Pedro woman arrived in Belize on an international flight from the US state of California, and by March 23, she had tested positive for the coronavirus, becoming the first person in Belize to have tested positive for COVID-19.

That marked the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in Belize, and the government began instituting measures to keep the virus under control. From the initial case, however, the virus began spreading in Belize, and now the number of persons who have tested positive for the disease has inched up to 18, the Ministry of Health announced yesterday, Monday.

As of today, Tuesday, the novel coronavirus is responsible for over 120,000 deaths worldwide. Only two persons have died in Belize from the virus so far. The number of persons infected with COVID-19 worldwide now stands at 1.9 million. However, over 442,000 persons have recovered from the virus.

Today, the Director of Health Services, Dr. Marvin Manzanero, explained on the Government Press Office livestream of the Ministry of Health webcast “Ask the Experts,” that the cases in Belize have ratcheted up because of two clusters of the virus that have been identified in Belize City and in the Cayo District.

In yesterday’s announcement, the Ministry of Health said that three additional persons tested positive from Belize City and one from the Cayo District.

While the Ministry of Health has been accused of providing less and less information about the confirmed cases in the country, Dr. Manzanero indicated that the Ministry of Health is thinking about abandoning the government press release format as the vehicle for announcing the test results to the country, but instead will be relying on its Facebook page to make the announcements about future confirmed cases.

Dr. Manzanero said that the Ministry of Health is paying attention to two clusters of the virus from which the 9 men and 9 women who tested positive have come.

In discussing the COVID-19 positive cases as they relate to the two clusters, Dr. Manzanero said on “Ask the Experts” today that the cluster in Belize City produced 5 positive results while another 5 were produced from the one in San Ignacio, Cayo District.

“So that is the two clusters that we are actively following, and I say actively, because potentially, we could have more cases from those two clusters,” Dr. Manzanero warned.

Dr. Manzanero also stressed that the quarantine period will now be extended from 14 days to 21 days.

The Director of Health Services also explained that the mapping exercise that the Ministry of Health conducts following each confirmed case begins 14 days prior to the person being tested positive. Therefore, all persons who test positive will be included in the Ministry’s mapping exercise.

All of the persons in Belize who tested positive, with the exception of those who came into the country with the virus, have been in contact with persons who previously tested positive for COVID-19.

The cluster of the virus in Belize City has been identified as stemming from a group of persons who attended a social event at Plaza Diner in Belize City. The Ministry of Health is now appealing to persons who attended that event to get in contact with them.