Casino Connection: Students and Teacher Positive for COVID-19
What was most feared about the reopening of in-person learning at schools has happened. Today, a number of parents did not send their children to school at two primary schools in Belize City after word spread like wildfire on Monday night that there was a high possibility that COVID-19 was detected in a few students. Well, this evening, the Ministry of Health and Wellness confirmed that four primary school students from the lower division of the Wesley Primary School in Belize City have tested positive for COVID-19. A teacher from the Queen Square Anglican School has also tested positive. While other teachers and students have tested negative with a rapid test, their PCR results are pending. News Five’s Duane Moody reports.
Duane Moody, Reporting
Four students from Wesley Primary School, three from lower division and one from the upper division, have tested positive for COVID-19. A teacher from Queen Square Anglican School has also tested positive for the novel coronavirus as part of a contact tracing exercise ongoing as a result of the outbreak at the Princess Casino in Belize City over the weekend.
Dr. Natalia Largaespada Beer, Maternal & Child Health Technical Advisor, M.O.H.W.
“The Central Health Region team is working hard with the contact tracing. Contact tracing is what will allow us to contain the spread of the infection and measures are being implemented with the schools to reduce the exposure of other kids to the virus.”
The students, ages twelve, ten, eight and seven are all close contacts of persons linked to the Princess Casino outbreak. The seven-year-old student is exhibiting mild symptoms while the others are asymptomatic. All students are in isolation. Today, there was little to no activity at the primary school as the standard one and three students and teachers were getting swabbed at the Central Health Region.
Pamela Baird
Pamela Baird, Vice Principal, Wesley Lower School
“We had a parent from this school that was tested positive and that parent had children in two of our classes. Due to that fact, we took those children along with the teachers and everybody went and took their tests today. We had twelve students and the teacher from standard three and fifteen students and one teacher from standard one. We learnt that there was a relative in a standard two-class related to that parent and so that other standard two class along with the students and teacher will be tested tomorrow.”
Doctor Natalia Beer explains the process agreed to with the Ministry of Education.
Natalia Largaespada Beer
Dr. Natalia Largaespada Beer
“When having cases in schools, we start first with the classroom where positive case is identified. And if I am not mistaken, the result from the testing of one of the classrooms, all of the kids were negative. The kid that was positive is a close contact of a family member that was diagnosed positive. So in this case, it is recommended that the kids from the classroom where you have this child that has tested positive – the rest of the kids can stay away from the class until their result is available, the PCR results. And then if we confirm that all of them are negative, none of them have signs or symptoms then they can go back to school.”
Meanwhile, Vice Principal Pamela Baird makes an appeal to parents.
Pamela Baird
“We are appealing to the parents, if you know you are positive, please, please we are begging you to keep your child at home. Do not send them to school so that they can expose other people’s children.”
Duane Moody for News Five.
