But nightclubs and bars reopening all depends on the daily positivity rate. Yesterday, it dropped to 4.57%. This is good news for the Ministry since it's a clear sign that the pandemic is slowly subsiding. We asked if he felt relieved to see those numbers after being battered by COVID for almost two years.
Hon. Kevin Bernard, Minister of Health and Wellness
"That's one of the whole idea that the government felt and Cabinet felt that for 2+ years Belizeans have been under these restrictions. We have looked at the spikes, we have looked at all that, and Omicron has shown that it is now a virus that has dwindled down, and at some point may go into a endemic now, I am not a scientist, none of us are scientists, so we are dependent on what the medical team are recommending but at the same time looking at the trends and so if there's, at some point, another virus that pops up and creates another problem then we may have to go back and set up a new set of restrictions to control that specific issue. But for now I feel that it has come to a time where we will now put the responsibility in the hands of the individual. We have to be responsible, I have to be responsible, you have to be responsible, Belizeans have to be responsible to do the right thing."
Today, the positivity rate is a bit higher - at 5.94%. And there are 79 new confirmed cases. 21 are from Belize City, 18 from Cayo, and 12 from Corozal. There are 11 patients in the hospital, 7 of them unvaccinated. There is also one ICU admission. There are no new deaths, and the active numbers are at 1,227.
