A few weeks ago, on Monday, October 9, it was reported that a number of prisoners as well as prison guards had tested positive for the coronavirus COVID-19 at the Belize Central Prions. This raised a number of concerns for the health of everyone in the prison and in an attempt to contain the spread, a 21-day lockdown was instituted. It seems that the lockdown proved effective because exactly two months later, the prison is now reportedly free of the disease. Well, that news lasted just one day. It was reported on Tuesday that the prison was free of COVID but by Wednesday, December 9, there were three new cases. This information comes according to the Ministry of Health and Wellness’s COVID-19 update as of 1:00 p.m. December 9. This data does not specify if the newly infected persons are inmates or staff.
In talking about when the prison was free of the disease, Chief Executive Officer at the Kolbe Foundation, Virgilio Murillo, made the announcement saying that the prisoners were released from quarantine. He explained that at the time of the discovery of the first case in the prison, there was around a 50% positivity rate of all tests conducted. While these cases were mostly asymptomatic and none too serious that there was the need for hospitalization, it was too high of a statistic. This called for drastic measures to be taken, and an unpopular one at that. It did seem to pay off, if even for a short while, however, and it was good news to be received when the prison’s doctor informed him that there were no positive cases on the compound.
Still being proactive to the possibility of there being a spread of the disease again, CEO Murillo says that they will assume a preventative mode of operations. This includes, just as outside of the prison walls, the use of face masks and consistent hygienic and social distancing practices. Persons visiting the compound will also be required to follow COVID-19 protocols as set out by the Ministry of Health and Wellness. These persons, however, do not include the friends and family of the prisoners. So for now, contact is maintained via telephone until, according to CEO Murillo, they can establish some other virtual means of communication. With the three new cases identified in the prison, it is possible that there will be another lockdown as they return to a mode of mitigating the virus.
