What is Accounting for Low Death Rate in Belize?

Marvin Manzanero

At the top of the newscast, we told you about the latest COVID-19 related death recorded earlier this afternoon. This latest death marks Belize’s third COVID-19 death. During today’s Ask the Experts, viewers asked Doctor Marvin Manzanero about the low death toll. Here’s what he had to say.

Dr. Marvin Manzanero, Director of Health Services

“Why people here in Belize aren’t dying? I have been asked that question a lot. The N.O.C. asks me that. It is a very valid question. From the data that we have reviewed, I can say that any person that dies – if we can avoid any death that is the ideal circumstance – but will people die from the current situation? I believe that will happen. I don’t know that there is anything that can be done to avoid that. I don’t know that we also want to talk about death on a Friday evening, but we have to live with that notion that people are going to die. Why the number is so low now and why not so many people are in the hospital, I don’t know. But that number can escalate very quickly and in the case of twenty-four hours your system can just get overwhelmed.  I don’t think that there is any specific answer and that is what I told the N.O.C.. I don’t know that there are studies done for populations like ours. I think Caribbean countries that would be similar to ours and the English-speaking Caribbean. But we have a mix with our Central American neighbours so I think it is a very unique population. Every population is different. When you study Brazil, the European countries, USA and Mexico, you will find that the vast amount of people that are dying have different characteristics. Of course the older you get, the more co-morbid conditions you have and you have a poor prognosis. As I said, the vast numbers of people that are infected are the younger populations.”