For weeks now we haven't reported on COVID numbers - and that's because the daily infection rate remains very low, as does the number of news cases, as do the number of hospitalizations and the number of patients in intensive care - if there are any.
But, even as the daily number of new cases remains low in Belize, worldwide case counts continue to rise with the latest variant known as BA2. But, worldwide hospitalization numbers are not increasing - so does that mean the COVID virus is in its post=pandemic stage?
For a good perspective on that we today spoke to a key figure in the national COVID response; that's Chandra Nisbet who is the CEO of the National Referral Hospital.
She says that you can imagine a post pandemic world, but at KHMH they just aren't there yet:
Cherisse Halsall:
"Some have said we're living now in the post-pandemic era, based on the admissions to the hospital and its COVID ward is that something that you, as yet, believe?"
Chandra Nisbet Cansino, C.E.O. KHMH
"No, for Karl Heusner Memorial hospital the pandemic is still very real, remember anybody that needs hospitalization, for the most part, ends up here at the hospital. We currently have four persons hospitalized. For mild symptoms, I might add that at this time we have nobody critically ill and it has been that way for quite a while. We haven't had a death in quite a few weeks as well. So while we are looking at it positively we are cautiously optimistic and we remain with all the covid-19 protocols that we have in the hospital setting as you can see."
"We assess the ministry of health's report as much as anybody else and we probably would be able to say that there were a little bit more new cases as opposed to recoveries but the average number has still between 9 and 12 per day so I don't see any significant spike so far."
