7 News Belize

Chetumal Overwhelmed By COVID
posted (July 3, 2020)
And for those who think that going over to Mexico right now - especially Quintana Roo is any kind of joke, have got it very wrong. News reports out of Chetumal say that the SESA, IMSS and Issste hospitals are about to collapse because almost 100% of the beds are being used by COVID cases.

Today we got some perspective from Belize's ambassador to Mexico, Oliver Del Cid who is in Mexico City:

H.E. Oliver Del Cid, Belizean Ambassador to Mexico
"As of last weekend actually Chetumal overtook Playa del Carmen for second place with the second highest number of infections. As of today Othon Pompeyo Blanco has 180 confirmed cases and Playa del Carmen has just under 600. Cancun is far ahead, Cancun has more than 2,300 cases. So in Chetumal in particular the situation has become very critical. I've seen in the press that the healthcare system in Chetumal is collapsing and that there are almost at capacity. However, the information provided by the secretariat of health for the state of Quintana Roo suggest otherwise. Their statistics say that they are approximately at 50% capacity, so it may be a question of which facilities may be at capacity and which may be under capacity. For example in cases like this I imagine a lot of people would rush for the best private sector facilities and those may be at a much higher rate than the public sector facilities."

Reporter
'What would you say is the prognosis for a practical date for reopening the borders with all that's happening over in that municipality?"

H.E. Oliver Del Cid, Belizean Ambassador to Mexico
"I can't guess as to a date, but certainly I don't think we might see that border opening any time soon. It seems that it will be a while before the pandemic is under control in Quintana Roo and even f it is brought under control - so I would say that all Belizeans should be very cautious and to avoid any travel to Chetumal at this time. I think one thing that Belizeans forget is that the municipality of Othon Pompeyo Blanco which I spoke about earlier is not just Chetumal, it extends all the way along the Rio Hondo and includes Botes and Union, so all those communities are also seeing high instances of Covid-19. I don't want Belizeans to think that its only in Chetumal - I can still go to Botes and do my shopping, you run the same risks in Botes or Union as you do in Chetumal."

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