And while Shyne travelled to Belmopan to be sworn in, the PM was locked up in his room today since he's got COVID - again!
He's under quarantine and told us today that he tested positive for the Omicron variant when he was coming back into the country from his trip to Honduras on the 26th. So did he contract the virus while attending the inauguration of the Honduran president? Well, he seems to think he got it even before he left the country! He spoke to us via Zoom today.
Hon. John Briceno, Prime Minister
"I got the results last week when I got back from Honduras. I went to test simply because when you come back you are required to take a test, so I took a test, I had no symptoms then and I have no symptoms now, so I guess I'm one of the lucky ones that I don't have a headache, I don't have a flu, I don't have anything, but I stay locked up in my room, I've been working here from Friday. I guess I just need to thank our creator for protecting me."
Reporter
"We know that Omicron is a variant that spreads easily, but is there any moment in time where you can pinpoint where you might have gotten it?"
Hon. John Briceno, Prime Minister
(laughing) "My brother is going to jump at me, but somehow I suspect that I probably got it from Jaime, because last week Saturday we were traveling in the vehicle together, we had a meeting in Belize City and so we were in the vehicle and both of us took off our mask and then on Sunday morning he called that his throat is very raspy and his eyes were itchy and I still went to see him although we were at a distance and kept our mask and this was outside. But I suspect that probably that happened on Saturday, but I repeat, I have no symptoms and I am very grateful for that."
Reporter
"I know at these events like the one you went to in Honduras there are a lot of hand shaking, a lot of talking - are you afraid that you might have passed it on while you were there?"
Hon. John Briceno, Prime Minister
"I don't think so, for two reasons; one is that I kept on my mask at all times and I never took it off, only when I was going to eat something and the people that were around me, for instance both the foreign minister and CEO Mai, they are negative, so they did not get sick and Mr. Richard who is the honorary consul for Belize - he was along with me through most of the meetings and he took a test yesterday and sent me the results that he is negative. I tried to be as careful as I can, because in the work that I do, I meet a lot of people."
And it's been a little over a year since the PM first contracted COVID. At that time, it was the original variant and there was still a lot we didn't know about the virus. He told us that he had panicked back then, but this time around, he's a little calmer.
Reporter
"I believe it was roughly a year ago when you were diagnosed the first time, what was reaction to see that you got it again?"
Hon. John Briceno, Prime Minister
"The experience was different. I got that on 23-24th November after the 19th, I was out in the rains - the flooding in the Belize River Valley and the difference then was that when I was told that I was positive, my first reaction was panic 'Oh my God what happened' and then I spoke to myself just calm down, you get covid and there is nothing you can do about it and so I calmed myself, but the experience is pretty much the same, I had no symptoms, I was locked up in this room again, the difference between then and now is now that the time that you are locked up is way shorter than before."
The Prime Minister chaired Cabinet and the parliamentary caucus as usual today - but via Zoom.
