19 Inmates with COVID-19 at Belize Central Prison

There are nineteen active cases of COVID-19 among inmates at the Belize Central Prison and nine wardens have also tested positive for the disease since the first infection was recorded at the facility.  While the most recent figures indicated that there were ten new cases behind prison walls at last test, Chief Executive Officer Virgilio Murillo told News Five that those figures were inaccurate.

Virgilio Murillo, C.E.O., Kolbe Foundation

“I saw something on the infographics the other day where they were saying that there were ten new cases at the prison and that kind of created a bit of alarm.  As far as I was briefed by the prison’s medical officer, there was no such thing as ten.  There were in fact, six new cases.  From what I’ve seen since the outbreak of COVID in the prison is a total of twenty-five cases and that is amongst inmates.  We have had six recoveries thus far and today we continue to have nineteen active cases of which twelve are males and seven are female inmates.”

Isani Cayetano

“I gather that these individuals remain in isolation so the chances of any spread beyond where they are is very minimal, correct?”

Virgilio Murillo

Virgilio Murillo

“It is very minimal.  As for the males, we do have a separate block that is being used to quarantine them and because the number is so low, you know, it affords us to even practice more than the requisite six feet social distancing because we are placing them in single cells by themselves and we have enough cells, at least currently, with these low numbers to isolate them in their own individual cells but far apart from each other.”

Isani Cayetano

“Where do we stand in respect of the prison officers who also came down with COVID-19?”

Virgilio Murillo

“Alright, what we saw, those that were swabbed in the prison and turned out positive, remain at six.  We also saw three prison officers testing, in their respective districts, positive for COVID-19.”