M.O.H.W. Reflects on COVID-19, a Year Later

One year ago today, COVID-19 was detected in Belize. Belize’s first patient was a woman in San Pedro. Since then we have recorded over three hundred deaths; been subjected to wearing masks; living under curfew regulations with multiple lockdowns – and the list goes on. Life as we knew it changed. Today we asked the Ministry of Health and Wellness about looking back and how Belize has responded to the virus. Here’s what Doctor Natalia Beer shared.

Natalia Largaespada Beer

Dr. Natalia Largaespada Beer, Maternal & Child Health Technical Advisor, M.O.H.W.

“Worldwide, it has been a learning process for all and I say that based on the fact that we started out considering that it would be one more respiratory infection and then down the line we learned that it was a systemic disease and now we learning that it is evolving to be or to create chronic illness secondary to COVID-19. The vaccines will definitely help and I think we just have to look at our numbers where we are today when compared to other countries, even developed countries. So, the citizens, the individual responsibility towards preventing COVID-19 is paramount and we must continue practicing those preventive measures and with the vaccines this will definitely boost the national response to keep those numbers low.”