BELIZE CITY, Thurs. Jan. 13, 2022– This evening, the Kolbe Foundation issued a release informing the public that the Belize Central Prison will be placed under a two-week lockdown following the detection of multiple cases of Covid-19 among staff and inmates of the facility. The release states that “a sudden and unusually” high number of persons have tested positive for “what is believed to be the COVID-19 Omicron variant.”

The public will be barred from entering the facility for the duration of the lockdown to avoid any further importation of the virus into the facility.

The release states, “The public is hereby advised that during the lockdown, absolutely no visits, cash deposits for inmates, or business transactions with customers of the prison will be conducted.”

The Kolbe Foundation is also advising attorneys not to visit their clients during this lockdown period. Any request coming from the courts will be coordinated and facilitated by the prison and the Judiciary virtually, the release notes.

The release states that the institution wants to “promote the healing of its inmates currently infected and mitigate the spread by those who may be asymptomatic.”