BELMOPAN, Mon. Aug. 3, 2020– Prime Minister Dean Barrow, in the House of Representatives this afternoon, said about the one positive COVID-19 case on Ambergris Caye, that, “We are preparing for the worst.”
He said that one institution on the island has called to indicate that 4 persons are showing symptoms classical of COVID-19, like loss of their sense of taste and smell. They are to be tested today.
The PM added that the contact tracing exercise for patient #57 has yielded some 40 samples so far. He explained that the woman is in an occupation where she has to deal with a host of people, and he therefore expects that the Ministry of Health’s mapping exercise will likely produce several additional positive cases.
PM Barrow emphatically stated that if there is any serious community spread in San Pedro, Government will not hesitate to quarantine all of Ambergris Caye in spite of the consequences that that would have on the planned August 15 reopening of the international airport, the Philip Goldson International Airport.
That’s because San Pedro is Belize’s main tourist destination, and any influx of tourists to that locale will be out of the picture if the island is quarantined.
PM Barrow added that the Ministry of Education is also prepared to delay the reopening of schools.
He affirmed, however, that the PGIA will only be opened if Belize is completely ready.
(courtesy KREM Radio)