The Ministry of Health has completed another review of the COVID-19 plan with the different regional management teams and the Chief Executive Officer of the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital Authority. This is all part of the final preparations to strengthen and improve the Ministry’s COVID-19 response. This activity has become more important since COVID-19 has been confirmed in three surrounding neighbors - Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico - bringing it closer to home.
The Ministry is also following persons who are now in self-isolation given their recent travel history. However, as of today, Belize has no confirmed cases of COVID-19 and the Ministry continues to monitor any potential case, especially those that are coming from countries where there is ongoing community spread.
Given the fast-changing situation with imported cases in neighboring countries, the Ministry of Health will now require, with immediate effect, that all foreigners arriving from the following countries be placed under quarantine at their own expense: China, France, Germany, Italy, Iran, Japan, South Korea, and Spain. Any national returning from these countries, and from cities in the United States that have documented community spread, will be placed under quarantine.
The Ministry continues to recommend the following:
- Avoid non-essential travel;
- Be prepared and listen only to official sources of information (i.e. Facebook pages of the Ministry of Health Belize, the Office of the Director of Health Services and the Government Press Office). There are many rumors circulating that can contribute to panic and poor decision-making; and
- Exercise personal precaution measures such as regular handwashing, covering cough and sneeze, and regularly cleaning common contact surfaces within homes, workplaces, and community settings.
The Ministry of Health will continue to provide updates on the COVID-19, including recommendations related to upcoming social events of mass gathering that may be cancelled abruptly based on available information.
For more information on COVID-19, please continue to visit our Facebook pages or call 0-800-MOH-CARE.