Friday
Friday 4th June 2021.
June 4, 2021
After reporting a total of 701 new cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, Panama raised its number of infections to 380,207, according to the epidemiological report of the Ministry of Health. Meanwhile, 7 new deaths were reported, totaling 6,388 deaths from this virus in the country. The fatality rate remains at 1.7%. 11,638 new tests were carried out to detect COVID -19, for a percentage of positivity of 6%. There are a total of 367,007 recovered patients and 6,812 active cases. Of the total active cases, 6,383 people are in isolation, of which 6,030 are at home and 353 in hotels; while 429 patients are hospitalized, of them 372 in wards and 57 in intensive care. Despite the fact that Panama is in the process of vaccination against COVID-19, the use of masks continues to be essential as they represent protection above 80%.
Due to the increase in those infected with Covid-19 in the townships of San Francisco, Betania, Bella Vista, Juan Díaz and Parque Lefevre, the Metropolitan Health Region of the Ministry of Health (Minsa) is intensifying epidemiological surveillance. According to the Minsa, the traceability and sweep strategies have been reinforced with the taking of swabs. In addition, day and night operations are carried out to verify compliance with biosafety measures and sanitary regulations.
The president of the United States , Joe Biden, announced this Thursday, June 3, the donation of 80 million vaccines against Covid-19 to be distributed globally, 75% of which will be distributed by the Covax program in regions such as Latin America , reported the AFP agency. The correspondents of the newspapers La Nación, from Argentina, and El Tiempo, from Colombia, in their publications include Panama in the list of countries that would receive vaccines.
As part of a conflict between shareholders that has been going on for more than a decade, on June 2 an administrative sequestering of the company Azucarera Nacional, SA was carried out, naming Rolando Mirones and Gustavo Villa as judicial administrators in the process.
The opposition bench of the Panameñista Party promised to present in the first days of the new period of ordinary sessions, which starts on July 1, a bill to extend the moratorium and financial relief, which expire at the end of this month. The proposal, according to a statement from the bench, is that the extension of the moratorium be until December 31 2021 and that it be done by law and not based on an agreement.
Panama is struggling to cope with a five-fold increase in the number of migrants walking for days through its dense jungle to the south of the country in hopes of reaching the United States, according to Foreign Minister Erika Mouynes.
The Panamanian Association of Business Executives (Apede) expressed its concern this Thursday, June 3, about the impact that some decisions have, such as the recent agreement announced by the Government through which the Panama company NG Power assigns its rights to the Generadora de Gatún consortium to build a plant based on liquefied natural gas and fulfill the contract awarded in 2013.