On Saturday an American Airlines flight from Los Angeles arrived carrying, among others, 12 persons of Chinese descent - two of them exhibiting symptoms consistent with a flu. That caused a scare which triggered widespread rumours about the arrival of the Coronavirus in Belize.
And while the Ministry of Health announced late Saturday evening that they had cleared all passengers for entry, we are told that the Immigration Department - with some major executive backing - overruled decisions being made by the Ministry of Health. In the end, the Ministry of immigration determined that 10 of the 12 passengers should be sent back to the US. The two passengers that remained are Belizeans of Chinese descent. They had to spend the night at the airport and were sent back yesterday.
Late Saturday evening the Ministry of Health sent out a release with the direction that all travellers who have been in China within 14 days prior to arrival in Belize be denied entry.
At present, the Philip Goldson International Airport is not equipped with quarantine areas. Wooden structures once designated for that purpose were later moved to facilities in Crooked tree.
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