News
Wednesday 26th May 2021.
May 26, 2021
The Ministry of Health (Minsa) in its epidemiological report this Tuesday, reported 7 deaths and 581 new cases of Covid-19, in the last 24 hours. In Panama 362,765 people have recovered from coronavirus and according to the report there are 5,819 active cases. With the 7 victims reported in the last 24 hours, the total number of people killed by the virus amounts to 6,353. The fatality rate is 1.7%. The authorities applied 11,397 new tests, for a percentage of positivity of 5.1%. Regarding patients in home isolation, 4,691 are reported to be at home and 432 in hospital hotels, while a total of 426 people are hospitalized, 370 in the ward and 56 in the Intensive Care unit. Leonardo Labrador, head of epidemiology at the Minsa, indicated that the provinces of Chiriquí (1,644), Veraguas (598) and Coclé (498) are the ones that report the most active cases. For this week the effective reproduction number (Rt.), Until May 22, was estimated at 1.10. The previous week it was at 1.19, which represents a slight decrease. During the last week, 17,313 people have entered the Tocumen International Airport, of these 61 tested positive for Covid-19, Labrador said.
The Social Security Fund (CSS) reported that it will enable two field hospitals; one for Chiriquí and the other in Veraguas, given the increase in Covid-19 cases in these two provinces. The structures were donated by the United States Embassy in Panama and that each unit consists of 40 beds.
The President of the Republic, Laurentino Cortizo , commented on the questioning of the VIP vaccination process against Covid-19 that took place last week in the National Assembly . “Phase 1 talks about essential groups. The Assembly, the work of the commissions, as a budget, is to approve transfers of government items. We have to make transfers of items every week, that is why it is important”, said the president this Tuesday. “Now, the issue is why they closed doors. It was not necessary. That’s the detail, it shouldn’t have happened,” he said.
The Fifth Court of Criminal Sentencing, Drug Trafficking and Crimes against the Environment of Guatemala authorized the formal extradition of Luis Enrique Martinelli Linares, required in the United States for the alleged commission of various crimes related to money laundering.
Former presidents Ricardo Martinelli and Juan Carlos Varela are on the list of defendants in the case of the Odebrecht bribes, for which the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office called for a trial.
The ‘I sign for Panama’ movement, made up of political parties and the Bar Association, presented this Tuesday, May 25, before the Electoral Tribunal (TE) the memorandum for the request to call a constituent. This group is made up of Panamanistas, members of the Democratic Change, the Independent Social Party and the Bar Association.
The Ministry of Health (Minsa) promised to “severely” sanction the organizers of an Arab music festival that took place last week at the Westin Playa Bonita hotel, in which the biosecurity measures established in the country were not complied with .
The Homicide Section of the Metropolitan Prosecutor’s Office began an investigation after the death of a man in the Old Town , who fell from a third floor, after the glass railing of the restaurant in which he was located broke. The event occurred at night on Sunday, May 23, 2021, at the Salvaje restaurant, located on Calle 11 Este and Avenida Eloy Alfaro.