Social gatherings in Brazil suspected to be the cause of the latest spike in COVID-19 cases: could this be a warning for Belize?

By BBN Staff: Brazil’s COVID-19 situation has worsened to the point where its health systems are about to collapse, and healthcare workers are blaming social gatherings for much of the problem, CNN reports.

David Molina, head nurse at a hospital in Santa Catarina’s capital, Florianopolis, reportedly told CNN that the spike in COVID-19 cases is connected to larges parties and gatherings that began around New Year’s Eve and continued through the pre-Lent carnival holiday up to today; noting that many those gatherings were held in defiance of local city and state restrictions.

CNN notes that Rio de Janeiro’s Mayor Eduardo Paes announced a new curfew for bars and restaurants throughout the city last week, which limited opening hours to between6:00 am to 5:00 pm; however, hundreds of people stayed out anyway and the city saw 230 curfew-related fines and closures between Friday and Saturday.

“At one bar, more than 200 mostly-maskless partygoers were found at a party that had been going for seven hours,” reported CNN affiliate CNN Brasil.

Brazil currently has over 11.2 million confirmed infections and 273,124 deaths connected to the virus, with a new record of 2,286 deaths in a single day. 

In Belize, Commissioner of Police Chester Williams has, on several occasions, noted his disappointment and frustration with people who continue to host and attend social gatherings. This week, Williams had to issue an official warning regarding social gatherings, as he said that social events are being planned for the upcoming Easter weekend.

“It has come to the notice of the department that there are some individuals and businesses that are currently advertising major social events for the Easter Weekend. These persons and entities are hereby warned that, as the regulations now stand, these events are strictly prohibited,” Williams said on Wednesday.

The ongoing situation in Brazil does raise the question of what the possible outcome in Belize would be if people ignore the regulations in place to prevent the spread of the virus and either host or attend social gatherings in the weeks to come.

Breaking Belize News (BBN) takes this opportunity to address a repeated reader concern that reporting on global COVID-19 news is an attempt at “fearmongering,” by noting that, as a responsible media house, BBN has an obligation to report on pertinent facts on this issue which affects Belize and the rest of the world. News coverage on matters relating to COVID-19 infections, deaths, vaccination, and other pertinent issues regarding the global pandemic is produced in an effort to arm our readers with facts so that they can make informed decisions and not in an effort to incite fear.

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