BELMOPAN, Belize (CMC) — Belize and Guyana have reported deaths associated with the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic as other Caribbean Community (Caricom) countries registered cases of the virus that has so far killed 1.34 million people and infected 55.6 million others worldwide since December last year.

The Office of Director of Health Services said that of the 323 samples processed on Thursday, 60 were giving a positivity rate of 18.58 per cent. It said that to date, Belize has recorded 5,018 positive cases of the virus with 2,173 being active.

“There are two deaths to report, one male in his 80’s from Santa Cruz Orange Walk who had been feeling ill at home with cough and shortness of breath, he died at home and one female in her 70’s from Duck Run.

“There are 63 recoveries today and our active cases now represent 43.3 per cent of our total identified cases.,” the Office of Director of Health Services said, noting that given that the majority of deaths are in the elderly population, it is important that “we as a family and as a community take all necessary measures and precautions in minimising their risk of infection”.

“Avoid all unnecessary visits and exposures for the older populations. If you have an elderly family member who has a chronic illness, do ensure that they are taking their medications as prescribed, eating healthy and hydrating well. It requires an ongoing community effort to break the cycle of transmission and collectively we can do it.”

Belize has recorded 102 deaths.

In Guyana, the Ministry of Health recorded 62 new COVID-19 from 470 tests, bringing the total number of confirmed cases since March to 4,976.

It said the latest fatality is a 66-year-old male from Region 3 (Essequibo Islands- West Demerara) who died while receiving care in a state medical facility.

Earlier, the Health Ministry said that the death of a child who had a pre-existing condition, and who was admitted for that condition, has been relegated to a death from COVID-19 complications. This is because the child tested positive for COVID-19, even though she presented no symptoms of the virus.

According to the ministry, the new cases reported over the past 24 hours were recorded in Region One with 10 cases, Region Two recorded 17 cases, Region Three recorded seven new cases while Region Four recorded 13 cases. One new case was recorded in Region Five and Region Ten recorded 14 new cases.

There are now seven patients in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU), 104 patients in institutional isolation and 757 in home isolation. An additional 62 persons who came into contact with positive patients are in institutional quarantine.

The recoveries to date are 3,965 and 143 persons have died.

Suriname reported two new cases of the virus and according to the official dashboard on Thursday evening, the country has 5,284 infections, including 22 active cases.

The death toll remains at 116, with five patients in the Intensive Care Unit 881 non-positives in quarantine. There are 12 people in hospitals and five positives in isolation.

The authorities said that 5,161 people have been cured of the virus.

St Lucia continues to register increasing number of COVID-19 cases with the Ministry of Health confirming 20 new cases, bringing the total number in the country to date to 203.

The ministry said that 10 of the cases are non-nationals.

Two of these cases are visitors to St Lucia, including a 28-year-old female and a 29 year-old male who arrived there on Monday, November 16.

“On arrival, they went through the established screening processes, and given they did not have the approved test, they were required to undergo COVID-19 testing in-country. They proceeded to a COVID-19 approved accommodation where they were placed in quarantine pending their results. The individuals have been placed in isolation. The Ministry of Health has commenced contact tracing,” it added.

The ministry said that on November 15, a cargo ship arrived into St Lucia carrying 11 crew members.

“After reports of respiratory illness among some of the crew members, they were all assessed and tested for COVID-19 and were placed in quarantine on the vessel,” the ministry said, adding that the ministry has since received confirmation that eight of the crew members tested positive for the virus.

The ministry said that the other 10 cases confirmed over the past 24 hours include two 18-year-old women as well as a 20-year-old man, all from the capital, Castries.

“All of these individuals, after being assessed and tested for COVID-19, were placed in quarantine by health practitioners while awaiting their test results. Five of these cases were identified through the contact tracing process and an epidemiological link has been established for these five cases.

“Investigations are ongoing to determine the existence of any additional epidemiological links associated with these cases,” the Ministry of Health said,, adding “we ask that everyone practice daily the infection prevention and control guidelines”.

Trinidad and Tobago reported an additional 53 people tested positive for the virus in the last 24 hours, according to the Ministry of Health latest health bulletin.

It said that the number of active cases has risen to 589 from 562 and that the death toll remains at 113.

The total number of cases recorded by the ministry is 6,233, of whom 5,531 people have recovered.

The authorities said that 24 people are in step-down facilities 190 are in state quarantine facilities and 471 people are in self-isolation.

There was one new COVID-19 positive case diagnosed in Barbados. She is a 27-year-old visitor who arrived on American Airlines on November 16, with a negative test.

She was the only positive result from among 285 tests conducted by the Best-dos Santos Public Health Laboratory yesterday. Meanwhile, two people will be discharged from isolation today.

There are now five people in isolation, 241 others have recovered and confirmed cases now stand at 253, comprising 134 females and 119 males. The laboratory has conducted 43,420 tests to date.