BELIZE CITY, Wed. Nov. 4, 2020– The infographic distributed by the Office of the Director of Health Services (DHS) over the past two days has presented alarming numbers — of both deaths and new confirmed cases.
Five persons have died as a result of COVID-19 complications since our last update — 3 males and 2 females. The three males died on November 4. Two of those men died at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital (KHMH) and the other passed away while at the Northern Regional Hospital.
On Tuesday, November 3, the deaths of two female persons were recorded — a 60-year-old woman from Corozal whose passing was classified a sudden death, and a 30-year-old woman from Bella Vista whose case is linked to a cluster of cases showing up across banana farms in the south.
As of November 4, a total of 64 deaths have been recorded within the country, which constitutes a fatality rate of 1.64 %.
On November 3, three infected persons — two males and one female— were intubated; and three others were on supplementary oxygen at the KHMH. Three confirmed cases were at the Northern Regional Hospital and 5 at the Western Regional Hospital.
Also, on Tuesday, November 3, 166 new cases were identified from a batch of 477 samples. 45 new cases were found in the Belize District, with 23 showing up in Belize City. In Cayo, 36 new cases were identified; 19 of these were in Belmopan. Stann Creek had 26 new cases; of these new cases in that district, 10 were recorded in Bella Vista village. Twenty new cases were found in Orange Walk and 9 in Corozal. Thirty-two recoveries were recorded on that day.
Data for November 4 also recorded a high positivity rate in tests conducted on that day. A total of 115 new cases were identified from a batch of 388 samples— a positivity rate of 29.6%.
In Corozal, on November 4, 43 new cases were identified, 19 of which are in Corozal Town. Of the 25 cases found in the Belize District, 13 were from Belize City. In Cayo, 15 new cases were found; of that number, 9 were found in Belmopan. Seventeen new cases were found in Stann Creek, 10 of which showed up in Bella Vista. Eight new cases were found in Toledo and 7 in Orange Walk. Also, 31 recoveries were recorded on that day.
A total of 3,905 confirmed cases were recorded on November 4; 1,548 cases remained active at this time. Therefore, as it stands, 39.6% of all confirmed COVID-19 cases remain active. About 2,293 recoveries have been recorded to date and as mentioned, 64 persons have died since the start of the pandemic.
The Office of the DHS urges Belizean citizens to practice all recommendations they have issued to prevent further transmission of the coronavirus across the country. New cases, hospitalizations, and deaths continue to surge in Belize.