It’s been 6 days since PAHO upgraded to a phase 5 alert and the H1N1
virus has still not been detected in Belize. Health authorities are awaiting
the results of 14 more tests which have been sent to CAREC in Trinidad. Those
results should be available tomorrow.
But of more pressing interest are reports we have received of a European who
came from Mexico to Belize yesterday and started exhibiting respiratory difficulty.
He is hospitalized at Belize Medical Associates and while Dr. Marcello Coyi
would not discuss his history, he did confirm that a Frenchman who is hospitalized
at medical was treated as a suspected case – because he came to Belize
from Mexico. However, Coyi says that Medical Associates can now perform the
rapid test which is 90% accurate and takes only half hour. And according to
Coyi, that rapid test was negative for influenza A which is the H1N1 virus –
so it is no longer considered a suspected case.
So, turning from that case to winder concerns, in the meantime, the decision
has been taken to re-open the Corozal Free Zone starting tomorrow at 7:00 am.
Casinos, bars and discotheques in the zone however will remain closed until
next week Monday, May 11th. .
We note that the H1N1 virus has infected one man in Calderitas – which
is just outside Chetumal. This is one of three confirmed cases in Quintana Roo;
the other cases are one each in Carrillo Puerto and Cancun. There are another
50 cases being investigated in Quintana Roo. And while that’s the local
situation, globally 21 countries have reported 1490 cases of H1N1. Mexico has
reported 866 confirmed cases, including 26 deaths. The US has reported 403 cases,
and two deaths.
According to Mexican officials, the swine flu outbreak has cost Mexico at least
$2.2 billion over the past 10 days, the finance secretary announced Tuesday,
mostly damage to tourism and agriculture sectors. That and the fact that cases
there seem to have peaked are why Mexico is ending a five day nationwide shutdown
tomorrow.