Prime Minister Dean Barrow has been tested for the coronavirus (COVID-19) has gone into self-quarantine pending the results, according to an official statement.
It said that Barrow, who is not contesting the November 11 general election in Belize, along with his driver and his staff were swabbed for COVID-19.
“This is as a result of his security testing positive for COVID-19. The Prime Minister and all his staff are in self-quarantine pending results of their tests,” the statement said, giving no further details on the issue.
The announcement comes as Belize reported two more deaths and 72 new cases of the virus over the past 24 hours.
The Office of the Director of Medical Services said that the 72 new cases were recorded across several parts of the country including Orange Walk and Stann Creek
“There are two deaths to report …both males. One from Orange Walk, in his 80’s (and) the second male is from San Ignacio who had been swabbed as a highly symptomatic case and has been confirmed as a positive case. Our case fatality rate is now 1.66 per cent,” the statement said.
According to the official figures, Belize now has 3,977 positive cases of the virus with 1, 588 being active. There have been 66 deaths.
Elsewhere in the Caribbean, in Trinidad and Tobago, the total active cases of COVID-19 declined to 639, down from the previous number of 661.
The Ministry of Health and wellness said that the number of deaths increased by one, bringing to 111, the death toll there.
It said that the number of positive cases also increased by 10 and that there have been 70 new active cases since Monday, when it was reported that no new active cases were confirmed that day.
In total there have been 5,774 positive cases and 5,024 patients have recovered. There are 32 patients in step-down facilities, 310 in state quarantine facilities, 45 hospitalised patients, and 552 people isolated at home.
In Suriname, the death toll increased by one to 112, but the authorities gave little details on the death.
But they said a total of 5,225 people have tested positive for COVID-19, after five new infections were reported in the past 24 hours. The number of active cases stands at 32. Seven people were declared cured in the past 24 hours, increasing the total to 5,097.
There are eight positives in isolation, six patients are in the intensive care unit and 18 people are in hospitals.
The Ministry of Health in Guyana has recorded 69 new COVID-19 cases from 352 tests; bringing the overall number of positive cases to 4, 393.
Two COVID-19 deaths were also recorded on Thursday but were not reflected in the Ministry’s daily dashboard. The total death toll now stands at 132 while 3, 409 persons have recovered.
Fifty-two of the new cases were recorded in Region Four. The other cases were recorded in Region Three with eight cases, Regions One, Two, Five and Six, each recorded two new cases and Region Ten recorded one new case.
There are 11 patients in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit at the Georgetown Public Hospital, 69 patients are in institutional isolation and 772 are in home isolation.
CMC
