Friday
Friday 10th June 2022.
June 10, 2022
The report of the Department of Epidemiology of the Ministry of Health (Minsa) , from this Thursday, reports that there are 2,793 new cases of covid-19 in the country , registered in the last 24 hours. Three deaths have also been reported, , and one from an earlier date for a total of 8,288 deaths and a fatality rate of 0.9%. To detect the new cases, 13,604 tests were applied, which yielded a positivity of 20.5%. The total number of active cases in the country is 28,046. Of them, 27,716 are in home isolation and 330 hospitalized. Those in isolation are divided into 27,681 at home and 35 in hotels. There are 294 patients hospitalized in the ward and 36 in the intensive care units.
Epidemiological surveillance of monkeypox is maintained in Panama through experts from the Gorgas Commemorative Institute for Health Studies, revealed the Minister of Health, Luis Francisco Sucre, who reminded that there are no suspected cases of the disease in the country. “We are also working with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) in conjunction with other countries to have the specific test” to detect those infected, Sucre said.
In the midst of the crisis that the capital is experiencing due to poor garbage collection, the administrator of the Urban and Home Cleaning Authority (AAUD), Pedro Castillo, assured that the problem is a consequence of the low budget that entity has. In the Budget Commission of the National Assembly, Castillo admitted that Panama is flooded with garbage, but the AAUD does not have money to fix trucks or pay what it owes. “I have two years in which we have been subject to budget cuts. No one can do magic, least of all, us. I don’t have money to fix trucks or pay what I owe. I’m going to speak bluntly: ‘if I don’t have money, you can’t expect the authority to provide the service,’” Castillo complained. In turn, he indicated that the AAUD is doing the collection “to the extent that we can and with the equipment that we have”, warning the deputies that in the 2023 budget hearings they value the entity, do not make cuts and see what is currently happening with garbage, because “if we continue like this, the next year is going to be worse”.
On June 3, President Laurentino Cortizo vetoed Bill No. 241 of 2022, which modifies Law No. 24 of 1996 that creates the Madungandi region. Cortizo emphasized that the project is unenforceable, as a whole, for infringing, as a direct violation, the provisions contained in articles No. 122, 123, 124, 125, numerals 1, 4, 5, 7 and the final paragraph of article No. 126 and Article No. 127 of the Panamanian Constitution . With this rule, new corregimientos were created within the aforementioned region and new regulations were issued on its limits. It also established that Lake Bayano is within that indigenous zone and allowed the creation of transportation concessions.
Former Comptroller Federico Humbert won a court battle against merchant Mario Martinelli, brother of former President Ricardo Martinelli (2009-2014). Indeed, the Superior Court of Appeals of the First Judicial District rejected “ as inadmissible ” an appeal filed by Mario Martinelli against a decision by a Court of Guarantees that did not approve reopening a case against Humbert. In 2019, Mario Martinelli accused Humbert of allegedly committing the crimes of abuse of authority and infringement of the duties of public servants, an illegal act that he would have committed when he was exercising comptrollership of the Republic and, allegedly, ordered to suspend incentives to companies in which Martinelli was a partner.
President Laurentino Cortizo during his speech at the IX Summit of the Americas on the afternoon of this Thursday, June 9, told his counterparts that the challenge is to materialize the decisions made at the regional forum, which takes place in the city of Los Angeles. Cortizo told those attending the Los Angeles Convention Center that he found the topics discussed at the Summit timely, because they are the key to the development of the nations of the area. In his speech, he took the opportunity to emphasize that Panama lived daily the drama of irregular migrants who risk their lives every day when crossing the Darién jungle.
A man and a woman were apprehended this Thursday, June 9, by personnel from the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office as part of the investigations for the alleged commission of crimes against the public administration, in the form of aggravated embezzlement, to the detriment of the National Charity Lottery. (LNB). The apprehended official worked during the period under investigation at the Chepo Agency. This man is allegedly linked to the crime of aggravated intentional embezzlement. One of the proceedings took place this Thursday morning at the facilities of the LNB agency, located in Río Abajo, in which the official was apprehended. Meanwhile, the other person, a woman, was apprehended through a search proceeding at a residence located in Mano de Piedra, district of Arnulfo Arias, district of San Miguelito.