Ministry of Health calls press conference on Chikungunya and Ebola. No incidences confirmed in Belize, says MoH. The media pressed Health officials on the countrys readiness to deal Ebola, should it come to our shores, and what was clear is that there is no solid plan in place. One area of concern is protection for health care workers. The protective gear used in Africa costs up to US$5,000 a suit. There is no such outfit for Belizean healthcare professionals and on the sidelines of the press conference, we were told that all 400,000 available outfits are being sent to Africa due to the Ebola crisis there. Where does that leave Belize? I saw a list of items needed to protect healthcare professionals here. Funding to the tune of $50,000 to $100,000 would be needed for that gear alone. The gear stockpiled to deal with respiratory illnesses are unfit for Ebola management. There is another complication: The only fit ICU stations at the KHMH could not be used to treat Ebola patients, so some alternative facility would have to be used to quarantine cases, if they were to occur in Belize. No protective gear, no quarantine facilities... but stakeholders from various agencies, including Health, Immigration, Customs and Tourism have fasttracked plans to meet at the end of October and are hoping to meet if not this week then by next week to solidify their response mechanism--all this as Ebola rears its head in the USA. As the saying goes, when the US sneezes, Belize catches a cold. Well, hopefully not this cold! Many questions: While Health officials plan to track travelers through four major air and border ports: Philip Goldson International Airport, Corozal, Big Creek (Stann Creek) and Benque, there is the cruise port which brings hundreds of thousands of tourists a year and places like Jalacte where there is no official presence but lots of travel in and out of Belize...
Posted on: Tue, 07 Oct 2014 20:34:25 +0000
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