Minister of Health and Wellness Speaks on New COVID-19 Regulations

Michel Chebat

More than two hundred and twenty COVID-19 related deaths have been recorded since the pandemic hit Belize. Belize has confirmed more than ten thousand COVID-19 cases with one thousand, four hundred and eighty-six active cases as of Monday night.  Dozens of patients remain hospitalized while the fatality rate stands at two-point two-one percent. In response to the continued increase in numbers, the government of Belize implemented a nationwide curfew from eight p.m. to five a.m.  Travel to the Orange Walk and Corozal Districts is prohibited, unless it is for work, conducting work operations, medical supplies or emergency, delivery of food, foreign tourist on tour, or purchasing of food or medical supplies.  According to Minister of Health and Wellness Michel Chebat, the two northern districts were placed under this specific quarantine regulation because majority of the country’s COVID cases are in Orange Walk and Corozal.

Michel Chebat, Minister of Health and Wellness

“Many people may say why Orange Walk and Corozal, why have you singled us out? What we have seen from out statistics that the Ministry is collecting and in particularly the epidemiology department of the ministry is that the highest rates of transmissions are in those two districts unfortunately. For every person infected in Corozal and Orange Walk they are not infecting an additional fifteen persons and that is the statistic we have over the last five weeks. Hence the reason we felt that it is important to hold it down a little bit in these two districts to stem the transmission of the virus. As you all know the virus is spread by human behaviour and unfortunately in those two districts we have not been able to stem it with what was in place before and we felt it was important to put some stringent matters at least for a period of time to try to curb the rapid rate of transmission in those two districts.”