BELIZE CITY, Sat. Mar. 21, 2020– Belize went into this weekend as the only country in Central America to remain free of the dreadful coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Information that COVID-19 was discovered in an American man, who had been to Belize and whose name has not been made public, was made official today.

The news that the American man, who visited Belize and had pleaded to get a COVID-19 test when he returned to the US, first began to make the rounds in social media earlier this week, where it had gained some traction.

Today, the government issued a press release with the caption: “American national tested positive for COVID-19 after departing Belize.”

The Ministry of Health press release went on to say that all who were in close contact with the American were tracked down by the Ministry of Health, which stated that so far, all have tested negative for COVID-19, but nonetheless were placed in 14-day isolation.

The press release, however, stopped short of identifying the area of Belize that the American man, presumably a tourist, visited.

Furthermore, the release did not indicate how many persons the Ministry of Health was able to locate, who had come in contact with the American.

This information is critical, because all the persons who were in close proximity with the man also may have families, whom they go home to.

Will family members of those persons be quarantined too?

The government press release also noted that this is the reason that it is important to follow the self-isolating guidelines laid out by the Ministry of Health.

If persons in Belize have been in an area where there are cases of coronavirus, they should call the Ministry of Health hotline at 0-800-MOH CARE.

Belize is expected to announce more preventative measures later today following a meeting of the national coronavirus task force.