BELIZE CITY, Tues. Mar. 8, 2022– The most recent COVID-19 report from the Ministry of Health & Wellness (which shows that the country’s positivity rate currently stands at 3.91%, with only 34 cases detected on Friday, March 4) and the February 13th Epidemiological Update by the World Health Organization (WHO) have both shown that there has been a significant decline in the number of COVID-19 cases both locally and globally over the past few weeks, with all data suggesting that the peak of the Omicron wave could be nearing its end. According to the World Health Organization, during the week of February 7 to February 13, the world saw a 19% decrease in cases, while the number of global deaths remained stable. The Americas specifically saw a 32% decrease in the number of cases that week. This decline was also reflected in our own COVID-19 reports issued by the Ministry of Health and Wellness. In the month of January, there were a record-breaking number of cases, with over a thousand being reported in just one day. And up until early February, the number of daily reported cases remained in the upper hundreds. Since then, there has been a steady decline, with the number of cases falling to double digits by the end of February.

In its update, WHO also revealed that all previous COVID-19 Variants of Concern (Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta) have been on the decline, as have Variants of Interest (Lambda and Mu) due to the global dominance of Omicron, which currently constitutes about 98% of all COVID-19 specimens.

The recent surge and subsequent decline in cases have led several countries, Belize included, to ease pandemic restrictions—a welcomed change to many global citizens suffering from pandemic fatigue. But it remains to be seen whether this sudden downturn in COVID-19 numbers will remain constant and for how long, especially after the abolition of the nightly curfew in Belize and partial lifting of mask mandates resulted in large gatherings across the country this weekend, including during the launch and conclusion of the first La Ruta Maya Belize River Challenge in over a year. Despite several countries across the globe breathing a brief sigh of relief, many experts have warned that the threat of new variants, alongside inconsistent levels of immunity and inequitable vaccine distribution, still exists.

According to WHO, the “acute phase” of the pandemic, at least, could be over by this summer, but only if about 70% of the world’s population is vaccinated by that time. Even with a decline in cases, though, the WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has advised that countries should refrain from prematurely thinking that the end of the pandemic is imminent.