Belize Monitoring Coronavirus Outbreak

The Ministry of Health here in Belize is monitoring the outbreak of new Chinese corona virus. The virus has infected hundreds since the outbreak began in Wuhan, China, in December. A cousin of the SARS virus, the corona virus has killed six people in Asia. The virus has been detected in Seattle, U.S. Corona virus symptoms include a runny nose, cough, sore throat, possibly a headache and maybe a fever, which can last for a couple of days. Here in Belize, Director of Health Services Dr. Marvin Manzanero says the outbreak is being monitored in case it is transmitted to Belize.

On the Phone: Dr. Marvin Manzanero, Director of Health Services

“What has been in the case in Seattle, it actually slipped the health system. It was the patient who did his own research and said that this is where I was and I have the flu. That is when they realized and did the studies that he did have that. It doesn’t seem that he have a grave strain. He is just being monitored and quarantined. It may be the same thing here. If there is a need for quarantine then there is quarantine. If there is a need for observation and ensuring that there is not further transmission of cases then t hat will be routinely done. We need to be on the alert. We just can’t be misguided information that tends to sometimes be falsely spread. We did say that we are in the middle of the flu season. So the mechanism that you enact to prevent the cases of the flu is the same thing that would be happening in any coronavirus infections. People need to be cautious.”