COVID-19 Related Deaths Now Stands at 116

Ian Mariano Sr.

Over the past three days, fourteen persons were reported to have died due to COVID-19, including well-known Ian Mariano, a former educator and sports enthusiast who was involved in the Belize District Basketball Association executive. Mariano was also a sports commentator for radio. On Friday, five deaths were reported: three elderly males from Corozal, one male in his fifties, and one female in her nineties- both from Orange Walk. By Saturday night, five more COVID-19 deaths were reported, two males and three females. Three of the five victims were at the K.H.M.H. COVID-19 unit and had been critically ill for days. The other two victims were being treated at the Northern Regional Hospital. On Sunday night an additional four persons were reported dead due to COVID-19.  A female from the Cayo District and a male from the Corozal District died at the K.H.M.H.  A female Xaibe village resident in her seventies died at the Corozal Community Hospital and a male in his sixties died at the Western Regional Hospital. There are two thousand two hundred and twenty-five active cases to date. The Ministry of Health and Wellness says that as it moves to scale up testing given the increasing numbers, all regional hospitals and most community hospitals have now implemented rapid testing for symptomatic patients and those close contacts of confirmed cases.