PAHO/WHO Belize and the Government of Germany donate PPEs to the Belize Tourism Board to support COVID-19 Infection, Prevention, & Control measures for micro and small enterprises

“The COVID-19 pandemic has created new challenges particularly in the workplace where IPC measures are crucial to reducing the risk and spread of the virus,” said Lealou Reballos, PAHO/WHO Technical Officer for Health Emergencies. “By collaborating with the BTB, we can strengthen the prevention measures for businesses within the tourism industry in Belize.”

In a country that is highly dependent on tourism, Belize’s tourism industry is one of the industries particularly affected by the effects of the coronavirus. As Belize begins reopening its economy, occupational safety and health must be taken into consideration. Through this donation of PPEs, 300 micro and small enterprises (MSEs) will benefit from having additional supplies to reduce the risk of COVID-19 infection in their workplace. The donated items included:

• 10 boxes gloves - medium (100 gloves per box)
• 10 boxes gloves - large (100 gloves per box)
• 50 face shields
• 50 boxes face masks (50 masks per box)
• 100 hand sanitizers (236 ml)

Mr. Jose Carballo, BTB’s Director of Industry Development noted, “With the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Belize’s tourism sector; the BTB remains committed to aiding in its recovery. This support from PAHO will contribute to this effort as these donations of PPEs will be distributed to MSEs throughout the country and will increase standards and quality of public health and safety plans for all tourism sectors. Further, combined with extensive training components this distribution will allow our stakeholders and partners to achieve certification and other pertinent growth opportunities. The BTB expresses its gratitude for PAHO’s generous contribution and remains confident that through strengthened partnership and collaboration on promoting health and safety we can aid in reducing the risk of COVID-19 in Belize.”