9-14-2020 Hurricane Nana & Covid-19 Update for Belize

In the wee hours of the morning on September 3rd a hurricane hit Belize. In fact, it hit just a few miles south of where we live. We had been watching Tropical Storm Nana make its way here, and thankfully, it turned into a hurricane with 75 mph winds just before hitting land, so it just barely made the grade to be classified as a hurricane. That means it was pretty weak by hurricane standards. If you look at this chart below you can see how much difference in strength just a few miles per hour wind speed makes. For example, if the winds had been just 10 miles an hour more, then the hurricane would have been nearly 3 times as strong! And we certainly would have sustained a lot more damage than we did.

Even this weakest of hurricanes blew the roof off 10 homes in the village, and caused 3 homes to
fall down off their posts. This is one of the fallen homes. (Photo credit to Hopkins UnCut)

Another fallen home - this one made the news. Fortunately, the home didn't fall until the morning
after the hurricane, just after the residents had stepped outside. (Photo credit to Hopkins UnCut)

Our friend's fallen house - thankfully nobody had been living there, but it was uninsured.

There were LOTS of trees down, which is apparently what caused the damage to this truck. We were
super fortunate to not have any people injured or killed. (Photo credit to Hopkins UnCut)

I think everyone who had a palapa like this lost it. This used to be a restaurant we liked called
Laruni Hati.  (Photo credit to Hopkins UnCut)

There was also damage to several docks. This resort lost the end of their dock that had been covered
by a palapa. Thankfully, their boat was not damaged.

Bread and Butter Cayes is a favorite island to visit, and it was not spared. Where these guys are
standing in the water at what appears to be a fence - that used to be land. It will have to be refilled
with conch shells and sand.

This cabana lost part of its roof, and more damage was done to the big
cabana there. We were supposed to be out there right now for a couple of
nights with friends, but that is being rescheduled.

On a positive note, the hurricane did deposit a lot of new sand on the beaches. 

Here you can see well how high the waves came up during the hurricane. To the far right you can
see the usual line of sargassum along the beach - that's where the waves normally hit. But, to the
left you see another line of sargassum - that's where the waves were crashing during the storm.

As you can see, the virus is now a real issue in Belize. There are 1480 confirmed
cases, with 969 of those currently active. There is now 1 confirmed case in our
village. So, the government lock down/quarantine orders have been extended
indefinitely. The curfew was lifted, but with nothing going on and nowhere to go,
it doesn't much matter. No sports, and basically no gatherings of any kind are
allowed. I mean, technically, you can have a wedding or funeral, but with no more
than 10 people, so realistically that's not going to happen. Also, the opening of the
airport was pushed back until October 1st.

My (Cara's) first attempt at made from scratch falafel patties. These were baked instead of fried so
they would be healthier. They turned out okay, but they are definitely harder to make using a blender
(instead of a food processor, which we don't have). Everyone says to use dried chickpeas that are
soaked because the canned chickpeas have too much moisture. However, I think they turned out a
little too dry for my taste, so next time I am going to buck the recommendations and try canned.

Granola peanut butter balls - the recipe made lots more, but this was all that was left by the time
I remembered to take a photo. Apparently they were a hit.

I (Cara) am missing in person Yelp events, although the virtual events that
Yelp has been offering via Zoom are pretty nice. And, you can join Yelp
events from across the US this way. This is from a yoga event.

This was from a Zumba Yelp event that I enjoyed during the evening before the hurricane hit.
So, the event was hosted out of Indianapolis, Indiana (USA), although I was enjoying it from
Belize, and this instructor here was Zooming live from Mexico! You gotta love that!

8-20-2020 Covid-19 Update for Belize

During the first wave Belize went on super hard lock down and limited the number of cases to 18. Sadly, since lifting the restrictions for July, the virus has begun to explode here in Belize. Here are the recent numbers:

July 31, 2020.      confirmed 48.     active 16
August 1, 2020.   confirmed 56.     active 24
August 2, 2020.   confirmed 57.     active 25
August 4, 2020.   confirmed 72.     active 39
August 5, 2020.   confirmed 86.     active 53
August 6, 2020.   confirmed 114.   active 80
August 7, 2020.   confirmed 146.   active 112
August 8, 2020.   confirmed 153.   active 119
August 9, 2020.   confirmed 154.   active 120
August 10, 2020  confirmed 177.   active 143
August 11, 2020. confirmed 210.   active 176
August 12, 2020. confirmed 296.   active 262
August 13, 2020. confirmed 356.   active 322
August 14. 2020  confirmed 388.   active 350
August 15, 2020  confirmed 452.   active 414
August 17, 2020  confirmed 475.   active 433
August 18, 2020  confirmed 553.   active 511

Here is another interesting info-graphic that the government released about the distribution of cases by age and gender:

So, as of Tuesday, we now have 511 active (533 confirmed) cases of Covid-19
in Belize. However, with 451 under investigation, we are sure to turn up more
cases. Thankfully, there are still no known cases in our village. Update: one
more person died yesterday, so that gives us 510 active cases and 5 deaths. 

So, we are once again in a State of Emergency (through the end of the month, unless they extend it, which is highly likely). The restrictions aren't quite as strict as the first time, but a lot of businesses are closed again, and we are back to 8 pm curfew during the week (Sunday through Thursday) and 10 pm curfew on Friday and Saturday.  Also, the reopening of the international airport has been pushed back. This time most people seem to be taking things a lot more seriously - they are wearing masks and properly socially distancing when they do venture out of the house.

Also, if you want really up-to-date info on the coronavirus here in Belize, you can check out the government's new Covid-19 website/app.

4-7-2020 Covid-19 Update for Belize

There are currently 7 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Belize (out of 268 people tested), and one of those people died Sunday. Don't let the numbers fool you, though. There are likely many more cases in the country, but there is not widespread testing. In fact, the wife of the man who died posted about their situation (on Facebook here), and her husband was denied testing at two clinics in San Ignacio before he was finally tested in Belmopan, then later transferred (in critical condition) to the hospital in Belize City. They are doing social mapping of the infected, though, and those mapped are getting tested, so that is good.

Belize may not be testing a lot, but they are otherwise taking things seriously. The country is in a nationwide state of emergency. Schools are all closed. Restaurants and bars are closed, though a few restaurants are open for take out only. Most government offices are closed. Non essential businesses are closed. All events are cancelled. The rum distillery is now making hand sanitizer, although it's not available in our village yet. Borders are closed except for returning Belizeans. Airports are closed except for cargo. No gatherings are allowed, and people must stay at least 3 feet apart. A curfew is in effect - nobody is allowed outside between the hours of 8 pm and 5 am. During the day you are basically only allowed out to walk your dogs, get money, go to the grocery, or go to the pharmacy. They have suspended all mail service. They have postponed the need to get your monthly immigration stamp (people will have to back pay once immigration is open again). You are also only allowed out to exercise (walking, jogging or running) between 5 am and 8 am - no joy bike riding or swimming in the ocean allowed. (However, it is up for debate as to whether that was a typo and they meant 5 am to 8 pm - we'll see.)  So far over 300 people (5 in our village) have been arrested for breaking the curfew and/or social distancing rules, and that is punishable by 2 years in jail or a $5,000 BZD ($2,500 USD) fine! Needless to say, we are following the rules and staying home.

When Cara does go to the store she wears a homemade mask (4 layers of 2 different types of
fabric). The good kinds of masks (as well as hand sanitizer) are not available in the village.
She also uses Clorox wipes on everything she touches in the store, as well as to wipe everything
down that enters the house. Grocery shopping used to be a lot more fun - now it's an exhausting
pain in the butt!