Monday
Monday 6th December 2021.
December 6, 2021
The epidemiological report of the Ministry of Health (MInsa), of this Sunday, December 5, reports that in Panama there were 222 new positive cases of Covid-19. Regarding deaths, it points out that in the last 24 hours one death was reported and one more from a previous date is added, for a total of 7,374 accumulated deaths, since March 2020, when the pandemic arrived in the country. To detect new cases, 4,864 tests were applied returning a positivity percentage of 4.5. 2,841 active cases were counted. Of the active cases, 2,729 people are in home isolation, of which 2,639 are at home and 90 in hospital hotels. There are 112 hospitalized patients and 95 of them are in the ward and 17 in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
Security Minister Juan Pino confirmed that the Fisher operation, in which 57 people were apprehended this week, including nine officials, has not yet concluded. He recalled that during this weekend an operation was carried out in the province of Coclé that which resulted in the seizure of a beach residence in Río Hato, which presumably belongs to one of the leaders of the criminal organization. The minister once again referred to the initiative in the National Assembly, through draft bill No. 625, which seeks to minimize the financial muscle of criminal organizations. He refers to the domain extinction law, which has been efficient and very effective in other countries such as Colombia in controlling drug traffickers. “The war against drug trafficking is not going to stop,” he warned. Pino argued that the eradication phase of drugs in South American countries has failed and now there are more drugs than ever in the entire region. He recalled that Panama is used because of its geographical position for the distribution of narcotics to the northern hemisphere and Europe.
For the Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture of Panama (Cciap), the publication of the decree that regulates the school calendar of 2022 should “be seen as the signal to lift the shoulders of Panamanian education”. Therefore, it must be guaranteed that “100% of students return to classrooms” and have as a priority “the needs of both infrastructure and curriculum” of the students. They would also have to focus on the academic recovery of the students, which should prioritize the areas of language, Mathematics and Science.
Two weeks after the Public Ministry (MP) apprehended officials and individuals involved in the alleged irregular collection of chances and winning tickets from the National Charity Lottery (LNB) , the director of that entity, Gloriela Del Río, has not yet explained what happened. Three of the officials are known to be involved in the case: Alejandra Bonilla González, former provincial director of Panama; Franklin De Gracia Domínguez, former Chief of Operations, and Yamilka Camarena Díaz, former Chief of Deliveries, were hired between July and October 2019, by Del Río. All are detained for the alleged commission of the crime of willful embezzlement. To date, Del Río has not explained how and why these irregularities occurred under her administration.
The embassies of the United States, United Kingdom and Canada in Panama organized a beach clean-up in the coastal strip sector on Saturday morning, December 4. This was revealed in its official Twitter account by the United States Embassy in Panama, which detailed that Panamanian volunteers also participated. According to the US embassy, approximately 100 volunteers from the three diplomatic missions participated, including the chief of diplomatic mission of the United States and the ambassadors of Canada and the United Kingdom.
After a search of more than 24 hours, a team made up of park rangers from the Ministry of the Environment and agents of the security forces managed to find Alcides Gómez and his son with the same name alive this Sunday. Both were transferred to the Minsa-Capsi de Volcán for medical attention.
Winds, waves and rip currents will appear in the Panamanian Caribbean until December 10, announced the National Civil Protection System (Sinaproc). The entity’s announcement indicates that the areas under surveillance with waves up to 3 meters high are: Colón, Comarca Ngäbe Buglé, Comarca Guna Yala, Bocas del Toro and Northern Veraguas. Due to the presence of strong waves or maximum tides, Sinaproc recommended that the population avoid doing activities in coastal areas, if you are going to set sail in light boats you must have personal flotation devices and communication radio and to those living near coastal areas you must be aware of the waves.