BELIZE CITY, Thurs. Mar. 18, 2021– This past week the country experienced an all-time low in Covid-19 hospitalizations. For the first time in months, no new hospitalizations related to Covid-19 were recorded in Tuesday’s infographics. The number of new cases of the virus remained in the single digits this past week as well. This reduction in the number of Covid-19 cases in the country comes as the vaccination campaign rolls out in full swing across the nation. On Friday, the leader of the Opposition, Patrick Faber, is scheduled to receive his first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Since the start of the pandemic in Belize, a total of 12,399 confirmed cases have been recorded. Of that number, 51 remain active at this time and 12,024 have been marked as recovered — a recovery rate of 97.0 percent. A total of 316 casualties related to Covid-19 have been recorded, with 208 of the persons who passed being males and 108 being females. Our case fatality rate stands at 2.55 percent.

On March 18, 3 new cases were recorded from a batch of 435 tests. A total of 4 recoveries were logged on that day as well. As for fatalities, 0 deaths were recorded. Only 1 hospitalization due to the virus was also recorded.

On Wednesday, March 17, healthcare facilities across the country gave 971 persons their first jab of the Covid-19 vaccine. The infographic showed a total of 7 new cases, which were identified from a batch of 497 samples. Ten persons were marked as recovered on that day, and no new deaths related to Covid-19 occurred. One person was hospitalized.

On Tuesday, March 16, no Covid-19 hospitalizations were recorded across the nation. No new deaths related to the coronavirus occurred on that day as well. The team inside the Epidemiological Unit found 6 new cases on that day from a batch of 446 tests processed, however. Six recoveries were recorded as well.

A total of 2,141 vaccinations were administered on Monday, March 15, 2021.

Across the pond, a vaccine war is brewing between the United Kingdom (UK) and the European Union (EU). Last week the European Council president, Charles Michel, made claims that the UK has imposed an “outright ban” on the exportation of vaccines and their components. His claims were dismissed by the UK government as totally false.

With the vaccination efforts staggering in the EU, some countries who had previously stalled vaccination rollout due to a review of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine have decided to resume their rollout.

The BBC reported that Brazil’s healthcare system is in the “worst crisis in its history” following an ongoing surge of coronavirus infections propelled by the new variant found in the country. At this time, all Covid-19 units across the 27 states in that country are filled to at least 80% capacity. Deaths of 2,841 persons were recorded in a single day in that country.

Recently, US infectious diseases expert Dr. Anthony Fauci warned US citizens that relaxation of Covid-19 best practices would lead the country to plateau once again with an even higher number of daily cases. He noted that this is currently being seen in Europe and urged US citizens not to make the same mistakes.

In Belize, the officials at the Ministry of Health and Wellness continue to urge citizens and visitors to continue to adhere to all Covid-19 prevention protocols. As our case numbers decline to near the lowest level since the start of the pandemic, the Ministry is bracing for a possible third wave. Hopes are that the vaccination rollout and the momentary relief being afforded the healthcare system will better prepare the country for the inevitability.

Globally, as of March 18, 2021, the World Health Organization is reporting a total of 120,915,219 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 2,674,078 deaths. On the worldwide vaccination front, a total of 363,691,238 vaccine doses have been administered since March 16, 2021.