News
Wednesday 23rd February 2022.
February 23, 2022
In the country, 932 new infections of Covid-19 and 4 deaths from this disease were registered, revealed the epidemiological report of the Ministry of Health (Minsa) , of this Tuesday. 3 deaths from previous dates were also updated. With these new figures, the accumulated number of deaths to 8,036. To detect new cases, 10,122 tests were applied for a positivity of 9.2%. The Minsa report indicates that there are 9,152 active cases, of which 8,880 are in home isolation and 272 hospitalized. Those in isolation are divided into 8,845 at home and 35 in hospital hotels and those hospitalized are: 221 in the ward and 51 who remain in the intensive care unit.
The Ministry of Health (Minsa) confirmed that the “get vaccinated in your neighborhood” strategy will be developed in the 15 health regions as part of the actions to immunize more people against Covid-19. This plan to move health teams to the communities to continue with immunization began last week in the capital city. Health authorities also reported that the program of visits to public institutions to apply the doses against Covid-19 was completed. 16,251 doses were administered to public servants and a total of 91 institutions were visited.
The president of the Labor, Health and Social Development Commission of the National Assembly, Daniel Ramos, announced that within 15 days the discussion of the bills related to the issue of drug shortages could begin. “It is what corresponds. You must talk to the Executive, listen to businessmen, everyone. But recognizing that there is a problem to solve, “said Ramos.
Monday, the Presidency of the Republic installed the technical work table to solve the shortage of medicines, which is under the coordination of the vice president, José Gabriel Carrizo.
A request to start the process of revoking the mandate of the capital’s mayor José Luis Fábrega was presented on the morning of this Tuesday, before the Tribunal Electoral (TE) . It is for the TE to evaluate and approve the collection of signatures, explained the lawyer Roberto Ruiz Díaz. “It is to revoke Mayor Fábrega’s mandate based on the constant questioning of his administration, the lack of transparency, lack of citizen consultation and budget management,” he said. If approved by the TE, there would be a period of 120 days to collect a little more than 160 thousand signatures, he indicated. To call the recall consultation, 30% of the list of the last election must be collected, in this case, the 2019 elections.
The approval of the Municipal Council of Panama of Agreement No.24 of February 15, by which the mayor of the capital city, José Luis Fábrega , is authorized to call a public tender for the construction of a new Seafood Market, in the corregimiento of Calidonia, is described by the Urban Citizen Network of Panama (Redcupa) as a new disappointment. Redcupa – an organization made up of several communities in the district of Panama – stated that there are several reasons for rejecting this $43 million project, those funds will come from the decentralization budget, despite the fact that the capital’s municipality will receive $30 million less than what was budgeted in this line, due to a drop in Tax collection Income.
The former Minister of Social Development, Guillermo Ferrufino , and his wife, Milena Vallarino de Ferrufino, were sentenced to six years in prison for the crime of unjustified enrichment. This was reported this Tuesday, by the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office. The sentence was issued by the Third Liquidator Court for Criminal Cases. According to the prosecution, the spouses could not justify assets of $2,288,000.
The Supreme Court of Justice declared the unconstitutionality claim filed by lawyer Carlos Carrillo, on behalf of former president Ricardo Martinelli, against the decision of July 4, 2018 by then-magistrate Jerónimo Mejía, as judge of guarantees, who rejected a nullity incident due to lack of imputation in the process that followed the former president in the case for wiretapping. The information is contained in an edict posted at the headquarters of the Secretary of the Court and as a legal basis to support its decision, articles 2559 and 2560 were used, detailing the requirements for the admission of a claim of unconstitutionality.
Latin America and the Caribbean will continue to be a growth center for the airline industry. Studies by the Boeing company indicate that in the next 20 years the airlines operating in this region will need 2,610 new single-aisle aircraft, such as the 737, and therefore the hiring of commercial pilots will increase. They project a demand of 117,000 pilots until 2039. Panama, being an air hub , is part of that trend. Copa Airlines, a company that operated an average of 87% of the flights at Tocumen International Airport at the end of December 2021, will require more than 300 new pilots this year.
Thirteen people were arrested for their alleged links with a criminal organization dedicated to the crimes of robbery, deprivation of liberty and homicide, to the detriment of trucking service drivers. The apprehensions occurred as part of Operation Border/Carriage F1, carried out in the provinces of Panama and Chiriquí.Azucena Aizpurúa, prosecutor of the Fourth Section of Crimes Against Economic Patrimony, said that these people used as a modus operandi the contracting of hauling services to dispossess their victims of the truck, which they took to Chiriquí and then to Costa Rica.The authorities reported that, among those arrested, there are 5 for crimes of homicide, 7 for robbery and deprivation of liberty, and one for drug-related crimes.