News
Tuesday 26th April 2022.
April 26, 2022
No deaths and a total of 267 new cases of Covid-19 in the last 24 hours, was reported by the authorities of the Ministry of Health (Minsa) for this Monday. The entity’s Epidemiology report also indicates that 3,771 tests were applied for a positivity of 7.1%. The maximum positivity recommended by the World Health Organization is 5.0%. There are currently 3,438 active cases, of these 3,367 are in home isolation. While 71 patients are hospitalized, of these, 64 are in the wards and 7 in the intensive care units. Health authorities reported that the districts with the highest incidence of cases are: La Pintada in Coclé, with 21; San Francisco and Bella Vista, in Panama City, with 18 and 14 cases, respectively, and Santiago in Veraguas, with 12.
The Minister of Health, Luis Francisco Sucre, announced this Monday, that the placement of the fourth dose of the vaccine against Covid-19 for all those over 50 years of age was authorized. He explained that it will be optional and that in the different vaccination posts as well as in polyclinics and health centers there are “enough” doses for the population as of today.
At least 11 thousand signatures have been registered up until this Monday in the process to request the revocation of the mandate of the mayor of the district of Panama, José Luis Fábrega . According to preliminary data, until 10:00 am on Monday, 11,237 signatures were counted. The collection of signatures, which includes digital tools, began last Wednesday and the proponents of the initiative seek to collect 198,920 signatures within 120 days for the TE to call a recall referendum.
After the Supreme Court of Justice determined that the concept of paid leave is unconstitutional, lawyer Roberto Ruiz Díaz announced that he had received a phone call asking him to delay the execution of the ruling. Ruiz Díaz said that last Friday they were trying to communicate with him, insistently, from “the Association of Municipalities of Panama”, Amupa, for its acronym. “An official or a person who represents the Amupa – shamelessly I must say – asks me, being the proponent of the unconstitutionality claim, to ask for a clarification of the sentence, because as of today [Monday] is executed and that it was the only way to delay the entry into force of the ruling,” Ruiz Díaz affirmed. Through a statement, the Amupa denied Ruiz Díaz’s accusations. “The Association of Municipalities of Panama categorically denies that any collaborator or member of our Association has contacted or made a call to Mr. Roberto Ruíz Díaz.”
President Laurentino Cortizo sanctioned this Monday, April 25, Law 162 that encourages electric mobility in land transport and whose purpose “is to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases by increasing the use of renewable energy.” The new law regulates the development and operation of electric mobility in the country, promoting the transition from internal combustion to electric transport, highlights a statement from the Presidency. In addition, it implements measures and incentives in the public, private and academic sectors.
Deputies that make up the Municipal Affairs Commission of the National Assembly endorsed this Monday afternoon, April 25, a bill that creates a new township in Los Santos. This is the initiative of law 291, presented by the PRD deputy Olivares Frías, which seeks to create the district of San Agustín, segregated from the district of La Villa de Los Santos, province of Los Santos. “The community of San Agustín is a thriving population that, since colonial times, has been constantly growing and today represents one of the most developed towns in our corregimiento,” said Deputy Frías.
The Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice rejected an appeal filed by drug prosecutor Edwin Juárez against the ruling of October 30, 2019, which declared 15 people accused of drug trafficking and money laundering not guilty. detained in the El Gallero operation. The ruling, dated April 19, 2022, definitively closes the investigation of the Drug Prosecutor’s Office into an alleged criminal network that used beaches in Azuero to introduce shipments of drugs from Colombia and which were then sent to Central America and the United States.
That the Executive makes the promise of increasing total public investment in science, technology and innovation up to 1% of the gross domestic product (GDP) —embodied in the Joining Forces Action Plan— a reality is unlikely in the remainder of the mandate. Data provided by the National Secretariat of Science, Technology and Innovation (Senacyt) indicate that Panama invests around 0.13% of GDP in this matter, which is reduced to 0.08% by subtracting the investment that the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute makes in the United States.
The Ministry of Public Works (MOP) will increase the reference price of the bidding for ‘turnkey’ contracts to repair streets in different districts of the capital city. The starting price for the works had been estimated at $73.1 million, and the works were divided into four groups. Ancón, Alcalde Díaz, Bella Vista, San Francisco, Parque Lefevre, Juan Díaz, Tocumen, Pedregal, Mañanitas, Calidonia and Santa Ana were the points that were chosen to be intervened, but now the MOP included streets in Don Bosco and in Condado del Rey.