BELMOPAN, Mon. June 7, 2021– Today, the Ministry of Health and Wellness announced that a cluster of Covid-19 cases was identified in the southern village of Santa Cruz, located in the Stann Creek District. They reported that 21 cases were detected from mass testing on June 4 — a spike that occurred practically overnight in that village.

The reports from the Health Ministry have indicated that this cluster originated in a school in the Mayan King area of Santa Cruz.

A release from the Government of Belize Press Office states, “The initial positive case was identified on June 3 as part of routine testing in the Mayan King area, where the exercise resulted in the principal of Santa Cruz Primary School testing positive. Two close contacts of the principal also tested positive. The surveillance team then moved on to Santa Cruz Village on June 4 to conduct mass testing. This resulted in 18 positive cases from 65 samples tested, giving a positivity rate of 27%. To date, 21 samples have resulted positive in that area.”

Those numbers were not accurately reflected in Friday’s data due to a backlog of cases. Today, in the Covid-19 data release by the MOHW, 13 new cases were detected in the village. At this time a total of 120 active cases remain in the country.

When interviewed by the media, the chairman of Santa Cruz, Vincent Scott, said that the villagers have been engaging in some group efforts within the village to control the community spread of the virus and have since been on patrols with police to ensure that persons in the village are complying with prevention protocols.

On June 10, community-wide testing and vaccination will take place in the village. Full physical distancing guidelines will be observed.

The Ministry of Health and Wellness continues to urge the public to get vaccinated and to strictly adhere to the prevention protocols put in place by the regulations. Persons are also reminded to be tested if they experience any symptoms of COVID-19.