DHS comments on the repatriation process
On Friday we showed you the arrivals of the Belizeans who came in on the repatriation flight at the Philip Goldson International Airport. The report was that close to a hundred arrived but today D.H.S. Marvin Manzanero says the number is below ninety. The Ministry of Health has revised the testing guidelines for the repatriated Belizeans; they will now be tested seven days after arrival. Some of those who arrived on the flight on Friday took to Facebook to criticize the process at the P.G.I.A. which they described as lengthy and drawn out. They say that they were made to stand in two lines to fill out a form – and that took almost an hour. One repatriate wrote that because they were standing outside where it was hot – most of them had high temperature readings. They report that it took almost an hour to get their passport stamped and it wasn’t until four or so they departed the airport after arriving at eleven forty. D.H.S. Dr. Marvin Manzanero responded to some of the reports circulating online.
Dr. Marvin Manzanero, Director of Health Services
Dr. Marvin Manzanero
“People are required to submit information fill out the repatriation form before they get here. We are finding out that there are many discrepancies between what people are actually reporting online versus what we find when people arrive at the airport. I am saying this because just this morning three different persons called very upset. People who came on the flight on Friday because they are saying that they are not aware that the process they had gone through is not the process that was described to them. Some people were saying that they were under the impression that they are going to be tested and they could go home. And this is despite that fact that they have paid already fourteen day period of the hotel stay. People say that they have medical evidence that they shouldn’t be in a hotel. But that is why the form is very clear, you fill out the form, you get that in a clear concise manner before you even board the plane then it makes it easier for everybody. But we have had people who also appear, show up that are not in the list. Some people who just climb up on the plane, arrive here and are not on any list. And you also have people that appear on the list and don’t arrive. Because my initial note is that we were to have 98 people to have arrived on Friday and that did not happen. It’s less than that.”
