Email

Print

Tonight, we start with the news that a second case of COVID 19 has been confirmed in Belize - and it's directly related to the first case on San Pedro.

The Prime Minister gave very preliminary details at a press conference three hours ago:..

Rt. Hon. Dean Barrow - Prime Minister
"Just before I took to the podium, the Minister of Health called me to say that there is a second confirmed case but it is that the first confirmed case infected one of her family members, indeed her mother. There were other family members that were screened and sampled and tested, they all were negative and they were 5 additional persons in San Pedro tested, not related to the first case at all but who it appeared, that might have been exhibiting symptoms that warranted they be tested, all negative. So, the second case is what was to have been feared in circumstances such as occurred where the first confirmed case did not self-isolate as she first claimed to have done and mixed in freely with the other members of her household and unfortunately her mother became infected. The health professionals will have to see if there is there is additional mapping required in consequence of the mother of the first infected person now having tested positive. In that kind of context, we are going to be extending the state of emergency that we declared for Ambergris Caye, so that is going to be extended so that we don't have to keep going back to the Governor General or worse, having to convoke the National Assembly. The new proclamation will extend it for a total of 30 days with the very earnest hope that it can he lifted well before then but we just out of an abundance of caution and I said so that we don't have to keep going back to his excellency, we are putting in the 30 day period as a sort of fail safe. We clearly have not only the hope but the expectation that it will be lifted before 30 days. I want to also make clear that the batch of test done by the Ministry of Health included 12 from San Pedro but also included 4 other tests from person coming from different parts of the country. I don't want to say exactly from which communities, which districts those persons were sampled and tested but I can say that not one of the person tested a part from those in San Pedro where as I said there was one case of the mother testing positive."

Tonight, there are many more questions than answers about this case but, the information so far is that the second case, a female of unknown age remains on San Pedro.