BELIZE CITY, Thurs. Aug. 19, 2021– The country continues to see a growing number of Covid-19 cases as we experience the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic here at home. So far, just this week, 6 persons have lost their battle to the deadly virus. Three of those persons passed away today, August 19, and three others earlier this week, on August 17.
The Ministry of Health and Wellness is echoing the call for citizens to get vaccinated. Of note, the majority of infected persons being hospitalized have not yet taken at least the first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine.
With a growing number of cases and hospitalizations, the healthcare system across the country is no doubt in overdrive. Today, the KHMHA, however, released a statement indicating that the institution is not in an emergency mode, contrary to reports made in the public domain earlier this week.
The call for persons to get vaccinated is coming from all corners of society as a group of anti-vaxxers file a constitutional claim in hopes of overturning SI 74 of 2021.
This Wednesday, the United States sent a shipment of 111,150 Pfizer Covid-19 vaccines as a donation to Belize. This donation is the first tranche of what is expected to be a total donation of almost 350,000 Pfizer vaccines from the United States. As noted, the Pfizer vaccine is the only vaccine approved for use in children between 12 and 17 years old. This will hopefully immunize that population and aid in the reopening of school sometime in October of this year, said PM Hon. John Briceño.
Today, August 19, a total of 1,624 tests were processed and 111 new confirmed cases were identified. The MOHW recorded 72 new recoveries and 16 hospitalizations, with 5 of those persons needing intensive care.
A total of three fatalities were recorded — two females and one male person. Two of the deaths were identified in the Belize District and one in Stann Creek.
A total of 870 actives cases are currently within the country, with 42 of the 60 new cases found in the Belize District showing up in Belize City.
On August 18, a total of 1,411 tests were processed and 74 new cases were identified. On that day, six of the 16 persons who were hospitalized, were admitted to an ICU.
Fortunately, no new deaths were identified on that day, but 50 new recoveries were recorded.
On August 17, 98 new cases were found among the 1,317 tests processed by the Ministry of Health and Wellness teams. There were also 41 new recoveries and 11 hospitalizations, with 4 persons requiring intensive care. On that day, 3 new deaths were recorded — two men and a woman. The persons were from the Belize District, Toledo District, and San Pedro Ambergris Caye respectively. A total of 41 recoveries were marked.
In the three-day report from August 14 to 16, the MOHW identified a total of 163 new cases from the 2,436 tests that were processed. On that day, 67 new recoveries were marked and 10 persons were hospitalized, with half of that number of persons being placed in an ICU.
And on Friday, August 13, a total of 109 new cases were logged from the 1,503 tests that were processed. About 32 new recoveries were logged and about 17 hospitalizations were logged, with 6 persons being placed in an ICU at that time.
Globally, as of 6:00 pm CEST, 19 August 2021, 209,201,939 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 4,390,467 deaths, have been reported to WHO. As of 18 August 2021, a total of 4,543,716,443 vaccine doses have been administered.