News
Wednesday 19th May 2021.
May 19, 2021
In the last 24 hours in Panama , a total of 539 new infections of COVID-19 and 2 new deaths from this virus have been registered, with the update of a death from previous dates. With these new figures, the accumulated coronavirus cases in the country have increased to 371,684, and deaths rose to 6,300, keeping the fatality rate at 1.7%. For this Tuesday a total of 359,848 recovered people are reported. The Ministry of Health of Panama (Minsa) reports that a total of 303 patients remain hospitalized in the ward and 61 are in intensive care units. On the other hand, 5,536 cases of COVID-19 remain active, of which 4,909 remain in isolation at home and 263 are in hospital hotels. He adds that in the last hours 9,839 new tests have been carried out to detect COVID-19 and the positivity rate is 5.4%.
With two circuits in the province of Chiriquí, the same number in Panama and one in Veraguas, this Wednesday the vaccination process against Covid-19 continues. In accordance with the schedule announced by the Ministry of Health and the Expanded Immunization Program in Chiricano circuits 4-3 and 4-4, the first doses will be applied to people over 60 years of age, teachers and pregnant women with the Pfizer vaccine.
The President of the Republic, Laurentino Cortizo , requested this Tuesday, that the alleged irregularities within the National Charity Lottery (LNB) be investigated . “Let everything be investigated,” said the Panamanian leader about the alleged anomalies in the returns of the tickets. To this was added another chapter: the contradictions in the process of payment of the prize of one million 4 thousand dollars of the Gordo del Zodiaco last April.
The plenary session of the National Dialogue for the Social Security Fund (DNC) did not approve, due to the lack of a quorum, extending the participation of the general director of the CSS, Enrique Lau Cortés, for three more days.
A guarantee judge denied a request by former President Ricardo Martinelli for the statute of limitations to be declared in the process that is being followed for alleged political espionage. Judge Elquis Martínez pointed out that Martinelli’s defense did not present the documentation with the dates that would support the argument of the alleged prescription, this Tuesday, May 18, in a hearing on the violation of rights that was held in the First Judicial District of Panama, at the request of the former president’s lawyers.
The Ministry of Commerce and Industries (MICI) reported that it received a proposal from the Canadian company Broadway Mineral to operate the Mina Molejón project, whose concession was canceled in 2015 due to non-compliance by the Petaquilla Gold company, and had not been duly closed. For his part, Guillermo Cochez, a lawyer for Petaquilla Gold , described the government’s action as an “armed robbery” that only harms Panama. According to Cochez, as long as the interested parties have not exhausted the legal avenues, in this case Petaquilla Gold, challenges that the concession can be transferred by the MICI to a third party.
Between the months of January and April 2021, the Tocumen International Airport registered a movement of 1.7 million passengers, reported this Tuesday, May 18, the administration of the air terminal.