Friday
Friday 22nd April 2022.
April 22, 2022
The Ministry of Health (Minsa) reported this Thursday, that 487 new Covid-19 infections were reported in the last 24 hours , bringing the accumulated number of cases to 770,463. According to the epidemiology report, no deaths have been reported in the last few hours. The accumulated number of deaths remains at 8,180. The health authorities applied 6,132 tests for a positivity of 7.9%. There are 3,133 active cases in the country, of which 3,066 are in home isolation and 67 hospitalized. Those in isolation are divided into 3,048 at home and 18 in hotels. Those hospitalized are 57 in the Ward and 10 in intensive care units.
The Minister of Health, Luis Francisco Sucre, declared on the morning of this Thursday, April 21, that Panama is experiencing a “fairly stable” situation regarding Covid-19, but stressed that this scenario is not for the health authorities to stop worrying about the virus either. Sucre recalled that according to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), after a country remains below 5% positivity, it indicates that the new coronavirus is under control. Panama experienced this scenario for four or five weeks; however the positivity rate has increased almost imperceptibly and even this Wednesday, April 20, it was registered 7.4%.
The plenary session of the Supreme Court of Justice did not admit an incident of recusal presented by Shirley Castañedas, from Ricardo Martinelli’s team of lawyers, against the attorney in charge Javier Caraballo, within the lawsuit of unconstitutionality presented by the lawyer Héctor Herrera against the resolution of March 22, 2022 of the Electoral Court (TE) that rejected the lifting of the criminal electoral jurisdiction of the former president.The information is contained in edict No. 465 posted at the headquarters of the General Secretariat of the Court. Caraballo issued an opinion in the lawsuit filed by Herrera in which he considered that the decision of the TE magistrates, Heriberto Araúz, and Alfredo Juncá, “is unconstitutional”, because it violates five articles of the Constitution (numbers 4, 18, 32, 142 and 143, numeral 3), given that both issued a statement on a subject “totally outside their competence.
The anti-corruption prosecutor Leyda Saénz presented before the judicial office of the Accusatory Criminal System of the First Judicial District (SPA) an indictment against 11 people for the alleged commission of the crimes of embezzlement and money laundering through the management of funds assigned to federations of sport of the Panamanian Institute of Sports (Pandeportes) . In the indictment of the prosecutor Saénz, charges were filed against the former deputy of the Panameñista Party, Adolfo Valderrama , accused of the crime of money laundering, and the former directors of the Pandeportes Roberto Arango and Mario Pérez were charged for the crime of embezzlement .
The Electoral Court (TE) confirmed this Thursday that 3,920 signatures were registered on the first day of the process to request the revocation of the mandate of the mayor of the district of Panama, José Luis Fábrega. Of the total number of signatures collected by the organizers of the initiative, 3,734 were entered on the tribunalcontigo.com platform , another 112 in the kiosks authorized by the entity, 66 at the TE headquarters and 8 in the application that the activists of the process have. For the initiative to be successful, 198,920 signatures are required in a period of 120 days, which began yesterday, Wednesday, April 20.
A Chirican doctor and a Dominican merchant who had his business on the Paso Canoa border will have to remain provisionally detained in the David public jail, after a Chiriquí Court of Appeals revoked the periodic notification measure. The two men were apprehended through the “Quijote” operation, coordinated by the Prosecutor’s Office against Organized Crime, for their alleged participation in a money laundering network through agricultural businesses, liquor stores and other economic activities in the region. The prosecutor against Organized Crime, Octavio Nicolau, managed to establish the existence of sufficient evidence that proves the commission of an alleged serious crime and whose sentence is more than four years in prison.
President Laurentino Cortizo returned Bill No. 776 to the National Assembly, which includes a modification to the mandate revocation procedure, which would benefit 15 dissident deputies from Cambio Democrático (CD). Cortizo partially objected, as unconstitutional, article No. 12, which also modifies the Electoral Code . After analyzing the bill, the president concluded that the aforementioned article, which adds article 438-A to the Electoral Code l, is contrary to the Constitution by establishing that political parties may not expel and/or revoke the mandate of deputies. by decisions approved by the majority of deputies of a parliamentary faction.
The Amador Foundation, which manages the Biomuseo, asked the Ministry of the Environment (Miambiente) to analyze “deeply” the 50-hectare landfill project on the Amador causeway and its negative impact on the area’s biodiversity. In a statement, the Foundation stresses that the landfill threatens Amador’s status as a visible icon of our biodiversity, its mission to protect it, and its value as a world-class tourist destination. For example, they mention that a cement fill would forever change the geographical configuration of this strip of land and would take away its historical, environmental and social value. Although the development supposes 50 hectares of filling in the sea, the environmental study specifies that the direct area of influence of the project comprises an approximate surface of 156 hectares defined by aquatic and terrestrial area.
Marcela Galindo took office this Thursday, as president of the board of directors of the Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture of Panama (Cciap), being the first woman to hold this position in the 107-year history of the union.