Belize has received 8,000 COVID-19 testing kits, which were handed over to the Ministry of Health on Monday, August 17, 2020. The kits will increase the country’s COVID-19 capacity amid a rapid increase of the viral disease. They were largely funded through the contribution of Probitas Foundation and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) COVID-19 Humanitarian Appeal for Children.
In the past fortnight, the number of positive cases of COVID-19 has dramatically increased, making it imperative that our testing capacity increases along with it. “UNICEF continues to bring critical supplies to Belize to support the response efforts and protect children and their communities against the pandemic,” said Michel Guinand, Officer in Charge at UNICEF in Belize. “This is especially vital and timely when the country is seeing a rapid increase in confirmed cases,” he added, “and as a consequence the reopening of the schools has been postponed.”
The donation of these 8,000 testing kits now goes to complement other items donated by UNICEF. These include the delivery of five oxygen concentrators, 840 masks, 200,000 gloves, and other personal protective equipment (PPE), such as biohazard bags and goggles, to national, regional, and community health facilities across the country. UNICEF has also offered support to the Belize’s national medical laboratory team through the training of five PCR staff to update their knowledge on COVID-19 testing – in close partnership with the Ministry of Health (MOH), the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)/ the World Health Organization (WHO), and Thermo Fisher Scientific, a US supplier of healthcare solutions.
