And, it's not just our police force but also our defence forces that have been thinned out by COVID-19.
There are 142 soldiers either in quarantine or in self-isolation; 65 of those are positive cases, while 39 are from the military installation in Orange Walk
Via Zoom video conference, we got a zoom update on the situation from Lt. Col Brandon Garcia, who told Cherisse Halsall that COVID-19 will not stop the BDF from manning the north.
Lt. Col Brandon Garcia - Chief of Staff of the BDF
"When those persons on operation actually were allowed some down time, they went home and one of them in particular came back, because he was with some infected persons in his family."
Cherisse Halsall
"So, we know that that index case happened about 2 weeks ago, by all measures would you label that soldier a super spreader?"
Lt. Col Brandon Garcia
"Well, it started yes with him and to this date we have confirmed that within the BDF we have a total of 65 positive cases, 39 with 39 alone being from the military installation in Orange Walk also a total of 142 persons, or 142 soldiers are quarantined or on self-isolation at home."
Cherisse Halsall
"What can you tell me about contact process that has been going on, how has it identified all those that you know about and how much can you tell us about who else may have been exposed?"
Lt. Col Brandon Garcia
"The contact tracing is being done with the assistance from the Ministry of Health and our doctors are also involved in this process."
Cherisse Halsall
"With this large incapacitation of soldiers, what does this mean for the BDF? How are you able to operate with all of these people out of commission?"
Lt. Col Brandon Garcia
"So, while I cannot speak to the plans we have in place, I will say there are no issues fulfilling our commitment. Basically, we are saying that we as a force for us to minimize the transmission of this virus, it requires employing the necessary precautions, it requires access to rapid testing kits, it requires an understanding of the problem within itself. It requires an implementation of doing things differently and also the most important, it requires continuous leadership. All these requirements work in tandem with knowing one status throughout this pandemic. So that is our approach to all that is happening within the BDF, so that we in return can protect the citizens of this country."
A relief is currently being conducted along the border to replace all those soldiers currently out of commission due to COVID.
