On Sunday afternoon Dr. Kenneth Guerra and his twin brother Kevin Guerra were laid to eternal rest in their much-loved hometown of Benque Viejo del Carmen in the faithful presence of family members and friends. Kevin Guerra passed away shortly after midday on Saturday and his brother, Kenneth, lost his struggle to Covid-19 complications eighteen hours later on Sunday morning.
Kevin was intubated at the K.H.M.H. on Saturday. At that time, Kenneth was also intubated and was in dire need of plasma from a person who had recently recovered from COVID-19.
A brief funeral service was held less than 24 hours after the pair of twin doctors from Benque Viejo del Carmen had passed away. They were taken by Coye’s Funeral Home on Sunday in matching coffins to their resting place, from the Sacred Heart Church in San Ignacio to Benque Viejo.
Their exemplary service to the Nation was honoured countrywide on Sunday night with the sound of sirens at 6:00 pm and motorcades at different population centres. Many residents watched virtually as the motorcade was being held in keeping with COVID-19 protocols.
Dr. Kenneth Guerra had been working at the San Ignacio Community Hospital under the Ministry of Health for three years whilst Dr. Kevin Guerra worked at the Independence Polyclinic.
Dr. Melissa Diaz, Acting Director of Health Service has told the media that words cannot describe the situation with the Nation losing two doctors.
“This has been a very difficult few days for the Ministry of Health family, for the entire country as you rightly said on a whole. …Words cannot explain the sympathy that our health community feels for losing these two very hard-working dedicated doctors in their prime to this dreaded COVID-19 and all I hear about them is how vibrant, how active, how funny they’ve been, how much they have been involved in their community and how much love and support that their patients have been given from them,” she said.
As teenagers both Dr. Kevin and Dr. Kenneth Guerra were football heroes on the Mopan Technical team. They went on to represent the Cayo District in football at the national level. Both 33-year-old gentlemen were always jovial in the dealings with their relationships.
Kevin Guerra leaves behind to mourn one son, six-year-old Fabio Raphael while Kenneth Guerra also leaves a son, one-year-old Kenneth Alessandro.
