BELIZE CITY, Fri. Oct. 16, 2020– At a meeting of the National Oversight Committee (NOC) held on Wednesday, October 14, it was decided that travelers entering the country would no longer be subjected to the mandatory 10-day self-isolation.
“The NOC agreed that the 10-day quarantine or self-isolation for Belizeans, permanent residents, qualified retired persons, work permit holders, foreign second home owners and long-stay foreigners would no longer be prescribed and penalized under the Quarantine Act SI,” stated a press release from the committee.
Prime Minister Dean Barrow explained that the decision is based on the premise that mass transmission of COVID-19 infections within the country is actually occurring among persons who are already in the country, instead of being driven by new arrivals into Belize.
“We were worried before the re-opening of the PGIA and when we were doing far better than we are now, that the fear that tourists coming in could infect the local population was something we had accounted for. Well before that October 1 re-opening, it’s become clear that we are infecting ourselves,” said Barrow.
PM Barrow pointed out that many untested Belizean citizens, possible carriers of the virus, are allowed to move freely within the public, while travelers entering the country with a negative PCR test are obligated to isolate.
“It doesn’t make a great deal of practical sense to us, and hence the decision to switch from what is supposed to be, or what is currently mandatory, the breach of which is punishable by court action. We thought the time had now come for us to move away from that regime and to go to moral suasion and this ramping up, as I said, of this public relations campaign,” Barrow said.
So, while travelers coming into the country will no longer have to self-isolate, they are advised that masses of the Belizean population remain untested.
The NOC has, however, issued recommendations that these persons entering the country — both tourists and Belizeans— go into some form of self-isolation and use only Gold Standard-approved services.
Dr. Marvin Manzanero, the Director of Health Services, said that to date, more Belizeans than tourists are entering the country through the PGIA. While healthcare staff at the airport is overwhelmed, the DHS said that the flow of arrivals is going “smoother and quicker than anticipated.”
He added that all persons who arrive at the PGIA undergo the COVID-19 screening set in place by authorities on the ground.
Significant relaxation will also be afforded to tourists entering the country under the safe corridor protocol. Tourists will no longer be confined to the Gold Standard hotels of their choice, but will also now be able to move freely to designated Gold Standard establishments, such as restaurants and gift shops.
The Director of the Belize Tourism Board, Karen Bevans, is encouraging all businesses in the tourism industry to become Gold Standard Certified, joining the 200 plus hotels and 140 approved tour guides.
Car rental companies are now allowed to rent vehicles to tourists, provided that they install a tracking device and keep tabs of their travelers’ itinerary to ensure they remain in the safe tourism corridor.
This breath of fresh air for the Gold Standard hoteliers, restaurants, and businesses is welcomed, but also comes with a level of risk. While travelers are required to produce a negative PCR test before entering the country, the fact is, considering the number of arrivals, some false negatives could be slipping through the cracks. This means that asymptomatic persons entering the country, and unknowingly shedding viral particles, could cause more infection.
A study from the New England Journal of Medicine published on August 6, 2020, entitled, “False Negative Tests For SAR-COV2 Infections — Challenges and Implications”, states: “With imperfect tests, a negative result means only that a person is less likely to be infected.”
It goes on to say, “For a negative test, there are two key inputs: pretest probability — an estimate, before testing of the person’s chance of being infected — and test sensitivity.
“Pretest probability might depend on local COVID-19 prevalence, SARS-COV2 exposure history and symptoms.”
Most persons are returning to Belize from the United States, a country that has seen over 8 million cases and 200,000 plus deaths, and our Latin American neighbors, who have been at battle with raging outbreaks for months now.