A Salute to Nurses on the Frontline of Belize’s COVID-19 Response

Ann Matute

National Nurses’ Week is celebrated from May sixth through to May twelfth.  On the culmination of this globally recognized event, today the Acting Deputy Director of Health Services Ann Matute appeared on Ask the Experts webcast and paid tribute to the frontline workers.

Ann Matute, Acting Deputy Director of Health Services

“In Belize, nurses must be commended as they are managing an unprecedented workload by treated patients with COVID-19 while also maintaining other essential health services. Nurses have always been and will continue to be central to health systems and have excelled as a part of the frontline response to the virus. In other words, we are the heartbeat of the health system, without us (nods). Nurses deserve praise, thanks, protection amid COVID-19. Our major challenge is the shortage of human resources. Our nurses are making extra duties in order for coverage more so with this pandemic. This morning at a press conference by the World Health Organization, it was mentioned worldwide that ninety-thousand nurses have been infected and two hundred and sixty have died. Here in Belize we had some scary moments but no nurse was infected during the first wave. The greatest fear was in contracting the disease and bringing home to relatives. With the training and the adequate supplies of P.P.E.s, we were able to have zero infected nurses. Thank you nurses, for a job a well done!”