BELIZE CITY, Mon. Nov. 23, 2020– Late this evening, the Government Press Office issued a press release informing the public that Prime Minister John Briceño has tested positive for COVID-19. The release says that PM Briceño was swabbed and that the test results confirmed a COVID-19 infection, without going into any details.

The Prime Minister will be isolated for two weeks following his diagnosis, after which he will be re-tested.

This announcement comes as the country faces an all-time high in COVID-19 infections and related deaths. In his statement issued last week, Prime Minister Briceño said that the previous UDP administration had no COVID-19 plan in place.

An official press conference has not yet been held by the new PUP administration, and this development will delay any public statement by the Prime Minister for another two weeks.

The first sitting of the House of Representatives was also scheduled for Tuesday, November 24. Prime Minister Briceño will have to miss this seminal event as well.

Notably, Briceño is a resident of Orange Walk, the apparent epicenter of COVID-19 in Belize.

Unconfirmed reports are that Cabinet Secretary Stuart Leslie and the area representative for Orange Walk South, Jose Mai, have also tested positive for the coronavirus. Mai, however, has confirmed that he has not been tested.

The surfacing of infections among party operatives and political representatives, even at the highest levels, was not completely unexpected, because general elections were held just 12 days ago, on November 11.

Over the course of that day, hordes of party supporters threw aside adherence to social distancing protocols and the wearing of masks to show support for their candidates, and in the end, it was very difficult for victorious politicians to avoid being in very close proximity to their euphoric supporters and fellow party members.