BELMOPAN, Fri. Feb. 5, 2021– The Ministry of Health and Wellness is awaiting data from testing labs outside Belize that are currently carrying out genotype testing on COVID-19 samples that were taken from members of our local population.

The Ministry is currently trying to find out if any COVID-19 variants are currently circulating within the country. Recently, three new COVID-19 variants were identified across the world: the UK variant, said to be more contagious; a variant found in South Africa that is said to be more deadly and is resistant to the AstraZeneca vaccine, and a new variant that has recently sprung up in Brazil.

The Ministry of Health and Wellness is taking no chances, and, as mentioned, is bracing for the arrival of the inevitable third wave.

“Notwithstanding the progress that we are making, the Ministry of Health and Wellness shall be using this time we have to prepare our medical institutions to confront a third wave. As you know, Madam Speaker, countries such as Barbados, Trinidad, and Tobago, and of recently Cuba, have shut down to curb the spread of the pandemic. Madam Speaker, we at the Ministry of Health and Wellness are serious about safeguarding the health of our people, and with this regard, we look forward to retrofitting our medical facilities and rolling out NHI to the rest of our country,” Minister Chebat said.