News
Thursday 2nd September 2021.
September 2, 2021
The Ministry of Health (Minsa) reported this Wednesday, September 1, that the accumulated total of deaths from Covid-19 amounts to 7,066. According to the epidemiological report, in the last 24 hours 5 people died from the respiratory virus. Meanwhile, 670 new positive cases of Covid-19 are registered, so the accumulated number of cases rises to 458,157. Of this last figure, 443,737 patients have recovered. 10,203 tests were applied (6.5% positivity). Active cases total 7,354. In home isolation, 6,964 are reported, of which 6,725 are at home and 239 in hotels. There are 390 hospitalized and 295 of them are in the ward and 95 are in intensive care units.
The Deputy Minister of Health, Ivette Berrío, announced that it is planned to start with the application of the reinforcement doses against Covid-19 from the first quarter of 2022. Berrío reiterated that talks are already underway with the pharmaceutical company Pfizer in order to acquire more doses against the new coronavirus and apply them to the most vulnerable groups of the Panamanian population.
As of this Wednesday, the negotiation table between the State and Minera Panamá – which has under concession for 13 thousand hectares in the Donoso mountains where it has extracted copper, gold and silver since the first quarter of 2019 – was officially installed. in order to reach a new contract. “The intention is to establish the agreements of a completely new contract, as stated by the president [Laurentino Cortizo] that achieves the best benefits for Panama within a metallic mineral extraction operation as developed in the Cobre Panama mine” said the Minister of Commerce and Industry, Ramón Martínez, who leads the negotiating team.
The Constitutional Court of Guatemala suspended the processing of an unconstitutionality appeal filed by Luis Enrique Martinelli Linares , against the law that regulates extradition procedures in that country The decision was adopted on July 19, and it states that Martinelli Linares did not carry out a technical legal analysis that supports the defect of unconstitutionality that he alleges in his claim. “Right now the extradition resolution is being sent to the Secretary of the Supreme Court of Justice. They send it to the Foreign Ministry, then he goes to the embassy, then to the United States and the extradition is already scheduled there, “said Rony Ríos , a journalist for El Periódico de Guatemala. The two brothers remain in the Mariscal Zavala military prison , where an operation was carried out two months ago, after an escape plan was alerted. Currently, visits to the prison are prohibited, since last August 14, due to the increase in Covid-19 cases.
The Second Superior Court of Justice declared the nullity and the archiving of the investigation followed against Mayer Mizrachi , for alleged embezzlement to the detriment of the Government Innovation Authority (AIG). The decision was adopted on August 23 by judges José Hoo Justiniani and Wilfredo Sáenz and revokes a ruling of the Second Criminal Court for Liquidation, which on April 20 had rejected the motion for annulment presented by Ana Belfon, Mizrachi’s lawyer. .
The attorney in charge of the Nation, Javier Caraballo, reported that 27 people, including an official of the Public Ministry and two agents of the security forces, were arrested after an operation against drug trafficking. Caraballo specified that “Operation Fusion” dates from February 2020 and that after 16 months of investigations, today about 30 procedures were carried out to apprehend these people allegedly linked to drug trafficking to the United States and Europe. The proceedings were carried out in the provinces of Coclé, Oeste Panamá and Panamá. It was reported that 19 high-end vehicles were seized.
At the request of the section against life and personal integrity of the Metropolitan Prosecutor’s Office, journalist Mauricio Valenzuela was charged this Wednesday, with the charge for the alleged commission of the crime of gender violence, to the detriment of Deputy Zulay Rodríguez . The case originates from a journalistic investigation by Foco about the PRD deputy and the dispute over some gold bars. “We consider it to be yet another attempt to silence a critical and combative media outlet that has been denouncing cases of irregularities, corruption and narcopolitics,” Foco said in a statement after learning of the decision to charge Valenzuela. “Gender violence affects thousands of women in Panama, as we saw recently in the case of Deputy Mayor Judy Meana . It is regrettable that this figure is using it to try to silence journalists and the media, ”said the statement.