BELIZE CITY, Thurs. Apr. 8, 2021– Last Wednesday, on March 31, the country received its first batch of allocated vaccines from the COVAX facility. This first set of 33,600 vaccines arrived at a perfect time to ensure that the inoculation program within the country continues without delay.

At this time, the Ministry of Health and Wellness is calling persons from Phase 2 B and C to reach out to authorized vaccination centers to receive their first jab. Persons eligible to receive vaccines during phase 2b include members of the National Assembly and the Judiciary, as well as Customs and Immigration workers. Phase 2C includes those persons working in the tourism sector who are over the age of 40 in the first instance.

Within the coming months, our vaccination campaign is expected to continue as the country tries to inch closer to herd immunity.

On March 31, a total of 688 tests were conducted and 5 new COVID-19 cases were identified. Two additional recoveries were recorded, and 4 infected persons were listed as being in an Intensive Care Unit. No new death was recorded on that day.

A total of 784 persons received their COVID-19 inoculation on that day.

The epidemiological team from the Ministry of Health and Wellness recorded data from the 1st to the 6th of April — the period during the Easter holiday. Prior to the holiday, government officials warned citizens and visitors to adhere to all the restrictions and protocols in place to avoid any mass spread of the virus.

Between 1st and 6th April, a total of 22 new cases were recorded from a batch of 2462 tests processed over those days. This is a 6-day positivity rate of 0.90 %. A total of 12 new cases were logged as recovered and 1 active hospitalization was recorded. No person needed intensive care. During those days, however, one new death was recorded: a female person from the Cayo District.

On April 7, eight new cases of the virus were found from a batch of 762 tests processed. The Ministry recorded 4 recoveries on that day and three active hospitalizations. No new death was recorded. On April 7, a total of 1,891 persons were vaccinated, taking the total number of vaccinated persons within the country to 23,958.

On April 8, 632 tests were processed and 2 new cases were found. The data revealed 12 recoveries on that day and one active hospitalization of a person who needed intensive care. No new death was recorded on that day. A total of 19 cases are currently under investigation.

Recent data in Belize as of April 8 shows that a total of 104,005 tests have been processed since the start of the pandemic in the country, with around 95,424 persons being tested. At this time, a total of 12,487 confirmed cases have been recorded across the country since the pandemic started, with 41 of those currently being active infections.

A total of 12,118 recoveries have been recorded since the start of the outbreak in Belize —thus 97.0% of those in the country who were infected with the virus have recovered.

A total of 318 deaths have been recorded. April 6, 2021 marked one year since the first death in Belize related to this deadly virus — that of the late  Hubert Pipersburgh.

A total of 109 women and 209 men have passed away as a result of COVID-19 complications. Our case fatality rate currently stands at 2.55%.

The new double variant of the virus that was first identified in India has been found in the US. This is after researchers from Stanford University identified the new strain in a patient from the San Francisco Bay area. They shared that this is the first confirmed case of the new variant in the US.

This new variant has two mutations in its spike protein, the part of the coronavirus which allows it to attach to cells. It was first detected last month. While the mutated variant may be more transmissible or deadly, health officials around the world have yet to consider it a variant of concern.

This past week, the country of Brazil recorded 4,000 COVID-19-related deaths in just one day. The virus continues to overwhelm that country’s hospitals, leaving many dying while waiting for treatment. The country’s death toll now stands at 337,000, as President Jair Bolsonaro continues to fight against calls for lockdown measures to curb the uncontrollable surge.

Internationally, since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, a total of 132,730,691 confirmed cases have been identified. As of April 8, 2021, a total of 2,880,726 deaths have been reported to WHO. And as of 7 April 2021, a total of 650,382,819 vaccine doses have been administered globally.