News
Tuesday 31st May 2022.
May 31, 2022
The Ministry of Health (Minsa) confirmed that 1,842 cases of covid-19 have been registered in the last few hours, while 5 new deaths were reported. 8,313 tests were applied and the 1,842 new infections reflected a positivity of 22.2%. Regarding the deceased, it is reported that with the 5 deaths, the accumulated figure, since the pandemic arrived in the country, is 8,254 for a lethality of 1%. According to the Health authorities, the active cases total 27,280, of which 27,027 are in home isolation and 253 hospitalized. Those in isolation are divided into 26,982 at home and 45 in the hospital hotels. Those hospitalized are 215 in the wards and 38 in intensive care.
The Ministry of Education (Meduca) —through the diagnostic evaluations carried out during the first weeks of the school year— confirmed that the children with the greatest lag in learning are in the first levels. It was observed that in the third grades many children still do not know how to read or write, and that in the case of the fourth and fifth grades, they present a low reading comprehension. The national deputy director of the Meduca Psychoeducational Services, Vadim Moreno, said that “students are returning to the classrooms quite affected and they are not doing well in the diagnostic tests.”
Two points were clear in the ruling of the Supreme Court of Justice on March 14 on paid leave for authorities elected by popular vote: no one can receive a salary from the State without having worked and public servants will not be able to receive from the Treasury National wages that require simultaneous work shifts. This pronouncement of the Court took legal ground from 172 representatives of corregimientos and 30 mayors of the country who benefited from the so-called ” paid licenses “, which allowed them to have two salaries from the State despite the fact that they only exercised one of the functions.
The Municipal Council of the district of San Lorenzo, in Chiriquí, approved a municipal agreement that increases by at least five times the representation expenses received by the mayor of that impoverished district. This is in response to the Comptroller’s order that definitively suspended the payment of mobilization expenses that allowed some mayors to have incomes of up to $10,000 per month. The Municipal Council of San Lorenzo approved transferring $30,000 from the budget assigned to mobilization expenses to the line that would now pay representation expenses. With the approval of the mayor, César Raúl Hernández, he will go from receiving $400 in representation expenses to $2,100.
Bill 697: “Which regulates the commercialization and use of crypto assets, the issuance of digital value, the tokenization of precious metals and other assets, payment systems, and dictates other provisions”, is the most ambitious proposal for the transformation of the Panamanian financial sector since the International Banking Center was established half a century ago. The announcement of President Laurentino Cortizo’s veto of this initiative should be turned into an opportunity to improve the content of the project and mitigate doubts about this new business sector. The proposed rule includes other businesses such as the digital transaction of rights over tangible goods, for example the use of representative gold and silver tokens, as well as other categories of goods and rights existing only in cyberspace, and means of digital payment..
The Center for Training and Research of the Attorney General’s Office has received seven applicants to occupy the position of magistrate of the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ). The State Pact for Justice, which is chaired by the Attorney for the Administration, Rigoberto González, reported that up to noon on Monday, May 30, seven applications had been received. This document reception process began last Thursday, May 26, and will run until Saturday, June 4, from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
A volunteer from the National Civil Protection System (Sinaproc) was attacked on Sunday, by a citizen, in Boquete, Chiriquí province. The incident occurred when volunteer Luis Castillo warned a driver that he could not continue traveling on a street in the community of Los Naranjos, district of Boquete, due to the flooding of rainwater caused by heavy rain. The driver became upset and verbally and physically assaulted the volunteer, who has 10 years of service at Sinaproc.
The National Association of People with Multiple Sclerosis (Anpemufa) pointed out that early detection of this disease is the main action that is available for both timely diagnosis and adequate treatment. Yesterday May 30, when World Multiple Sclerosis Day was celebrated, the president of Anpemufa, Emilia Martínez, stated that many patients usually go to the doctor when this disease is in advanced stages. According to Martínez, many of these cases arise due to misinformation, fear or because people live in areas far from central hospitals. He also mentioned the scarce economic resources of the patients and the lack of specialists.