Almost a month after Belize registered its first two cases of COVID-19 (Coronavirus), on Tuesday, April 21st, the Director of Health Services in the Ministry of Health (MOH), Dr. Marvin Manzanero announced that two patients have fully recovered after testing negative for a second time.
The first two patients that tested positive include a mother and daughter from Ambergris Caye. They were diagnosed with the deadly virus on the 23rd and 25th of March respectively, isolating the island from the mainland via a mandatory lockdown. The patients, however, did not develop major symptoms and were not hospitalized during their time of quarantine and observation.
The first case announced by Prime Minister Right Honourable Dean Barrow revealed that the victim, a 38-year-old woman had recently returned from Los Angeles, California, USA. According to the report, she returned to the country on March 19th and allegedly went into isolation a day after arriving on the island. She reportedly experienced the mild version of the disease and did not require any hospitalization.
Two days after, her mother tested positive, increasing the number of cases to two on Ambergris Caye and further restricting the movement of islanders and setting a state of emergency on the island to 30 days. Many mainland residents that had lost their jobs or were on the island for the day were left stranded. These persons have since been allowed to leave the island with the authorization of MOH.
These initial incidents turned Ambergris Caye into a ghost town as shops and other business establishments closed down. But as no new cases were registered in the days after, the lockdown was slowly loosened up, and the commercial sector has since then been allowed to operate during the mornings.
The news that the island may be COVID-19 free does not mean that all activities will go back to normality. San Pedro Mayor Daniel Guerrero stated during the morning talk show on Reef TV that certain restrictions will still continue to be exercised even if both patients are recovered. He added that the island will eventually begin to open up to its commercial activities within itself. However, no one is yet to be allowed to travel to Ambergris Caye from the mainland. The Emergency Operation Center on the island monitoring all regulations set so far, will meet and issue a statement with new regulations governing the island after one of the two infected patients have recovered.
Whenever that statement is made available, we will share that information with you all.
