Is Dr. Manza In or Out as Director of Health Services?

Dr. Marvin Manzanero has been the Director of Health Services for several years under the previous administration.  While he is at home recovering from COVID-19, his fate as D.H.S. is up in the air.  Minister of Health and Wellness Michel Chebat has confirmed that Manzanero still holds that office, however, Prime Minister John Briceño admits that a new course needs to be charted in respect of the national COVID-19 response.  So what will become of Belize’s leading epidemiologist?

Prime Minister John Briceño

“I don’t know as yet, but we do need to take a different course.  The previous course was not working, the course of just sitting and waiting on the PCR tests, the long waits in getting back the results.  We felt that we have to be a lot more aggressive than what we were and so we have to look at what are our options and I think the Minister of Health will probably inform us more sooner than later what will be the plans.  But what I can tell you is that Dr. Melissa Diaz is one of the best doctors.  She has been out in the frontline in the testing and doing everything to try to curb the spread of the virus.  So should the minister decide that he wants to put in a, to appoint Dr. Melissa Diaz, he would have my full support.  I have great respect for her.  I admire the work that she has done, the determination and the love for her work and this is what we need right now, people that are determined, people that are fearless, people that love what they do and love the work that they’re doing and that is how we are going to get through.”