BELIZE CITY, Mon. Aug. 17, 2020– On Friday the public received a breakdown of the then 322 active cases of COVID-19 that swept across Belize within a very short span of time. In a report from Dr. Marvin Manzanero, Director of Health Services, several additional locations were identified as spots where new cases of COVID-19 have been discovered, and it was revealed that the persons in those areas who have tested positive for the virus had contracted the illness from various sources, with some of these individuals having an unknown source of infection — thus indicating possible community spread.

Among those clusters identified is a group of five Belizean employees who are said to have contracted the virus while on duty outside the country. These individuals had been working on a tug-boat operated by the Big Creek Group, which was sent to transfer cargo from Honduras to Belize earlier this month.

Many Belizeans were outraged by this, given that the country’s borders have been closed for months in an effort to limit the infiltration of COVID-19 into the country.

Further, the GOB has recently introduced much more stringent laws to penalize “border jumpers” and “contrabandistas” in the north; therefore, many are confused by the contradictory actions by the management of the BIg Creek port which resulted in the 5 active cases who were allowed to leave the country and re-enter with no repercussions.

The Big Creek Group, however, claims that the chain of events was not done in secret, nor were their actions illegal. They also asserted that the crew members did not adhere to the proper quarantine guidelines due to “miscommunication.”

The Big Creek Group issued a statement dated August 15, condemning 7News for their newscast in which there was a report on the matter, and called it “incomplete, not from reliable sources, inconsistent with the true facts and misleading to the public and the Prime Minister.”

Further, the statement goes on to point out that the tugboat had been stationed in Roatan, Honduras, for ten days after the Big Creek Group’s receipt of all the necessary permits and approvals from the proper authorities.

Reportedly, all members of the crew had tested negative for COVID-19 before leaving the country (Belize) and did not disembark from the ship throughout their voyage in Honduras. The crew was said to have also been tested by Honduran authorities upon arrival, which also yielded negative results.

It was also mandatory for the crew members to be tested onboard the vessel before they returned to Belize, which was done two days prior. However, the crew did not comply with the protocol that was to be followed upon their return to Belize:

“Upon the tug’s arrival, the Health Officer and doctor changed the arrangements and instead, instructed that the crew be taken to the Independence Polyclinic for testing. A vehicle was provided and the captain of the crew drove himself and his crew to the clinic, where they waited in the public waiting room for more than three hours before being discharged.

“After the tests were done, the captain and his crew returned to the tug, where they remained in quarantine. On the fifth day, there appears to have been a miscommunication that led the crew to disembark and return home,” said the Big Creek Group.

The crew was contacted half an hour later and instructed to return to the tugboat, and they did not receive their test results until later that night.

Four members of the crew remain quarantined onboard the boat, while another had to seek medical attention at the Southern Regional Hospital.