No Travel Restrictions on Countries Reporting Massive Spikes in COVID Infections

Dr. Melissa Diaz Musa

As we said, several countries are reporting a spike in COVID-19 infections. Over the last seven days, the U.K. has reported more than seventy-thousand new cases. In China, more than one hundred and seven thousand new cases have been reported over the same period. According to Doctor Musa, the BA5.2 and BF7 variants account for ninety-seven percent of all cases in that country.  So, should Belize consider temporarily closing its borders to countries now experiencing another wave of infections? Here is how Doctor Musa responded.

Dr. Melissa Diaz Musa, Director of Public Health and Wellness, M.O.H.W.

“I want to quote from the executive Director of CARPHA, Dr. Joy St John. She says, several Corona Virus variants that are causing surges in the United States, United Kingdom, and China, have been circulating in the Caribbean since last year. She urged regional countries against shutting down their borders or implementing any travel restrictions as a means of curbing the spread of the virus. She continued to say that we are scientifically unjustified in trying to stop any particular country from coming to the region because of fear of COVID-19 variants, adding that we are not seeing  the level of illness that we saw when Delta was spreading rapidly. Throughout the pandemic, the strength of our health system in Belize has allowed us to keep our vaccine uptake high and our case fatality relatively low at this point. The surveillance system in Belize is rigorous and it helps us to detect COVID-19 as well as many other diseases quite efficiently and effectively.”