News
Wednesday 8th September 2021.
September 8, 2021
In the last 24 hours, Panama registered 426 new cases of coronavirus for a positivity of 4.9% after the application of 8,531 tests, reported the Ministry of Health (Minsa). According to the figures revealed by the Minsa, in the last hours the number of recovered patients is 670. In addition, 4 deaths have been registered, for a total of 7,099 accumulated, which reflects a fatality of 1.5%. With regard to active cases, it is specified that there are 5,934, this represents 18.5% less compared to last week’s report. The effective reproduction index is at 0.86 for this week. There are 5,587 people in home isolation, of which 5,363 are at home and 224 in hotels. There are 347 hospitalized, of this number 262 are in the ward and 85 are in intensive care.
The Expanded Immunization Program reported that the country reached 5,015,092 vaccines on Tuesday applied against Covid-19, with doses of Pfizer and AstraZeneca. 2,869,139 first doses and 2,145,953 second doses have been administered. This Tuesday by province 1,184 vaccines were placed in Coclé, 348 in Chiriquí, 450 in Herrera and 336 in Los Santos. Meanwhile, in the Health Region of San Miguelito 1,702 doses were applied.
The Minister of Health, Luis Francisco Sucre, declared on the afternoon of this Tuesday, September 7, that throughout the country and in the districts that still had a curfew, it will be from 1:00 a.m. to 4:00 a.m. starting today Wednesday September 8th. Therefore, businesses must close Monday through Sunday at midnight to ensure that their staff arrive before curfew at their homes.
The information contained in the QR code of each person only refers to the vaccination process against Covid-19 , the Minister of Health (Minsa), Luis Francisco Sucre , reiterated this Tuesday . “The only thing that the QR code contributes is if you are vaccinated or not and through a color,” Sucre said after a meeting with the Ombudsman, Eduardo Leblanc and with the administrator of the Authority for Consumer Protection and Defense of Competition (Acodeco), Jorge Quintero.
The Government, Justice and Constitutional Affairs Commission of the National Assembly (AN) deleted from the electoral reform package those articles that proposed eliminating the electoral criminal jurisdiction. This Tuesday, September 7, the Government Commission approved in the first debate the second block (articles 76 to 150) of project 544, eliminating 14 articles of the original proposal, including 11 to abolish the issue of the electoral criminal jurisdiction. They also eliminated article 123 of project 544, which prevented candidates from running for more than one popularly elected office. The current Electoral Code allows a candidate to run for one or more popularly elected offices. Several points modified so far by this legislative commission have been questioned in this Tuesday’s session by deputies Carles (Panameñista Party) and Juan Diego Vásquez (independent bench). “I cannot be silent in the face of this reality,” said independent deputy Vásquez at the session. He explained that the vast majority of the proposals seek a setback in democratic matters.
“The country does not deserve a setback in any area, much less on sensitive issues such as electoral rules.” This was expressed by the former president of the Republic, Juan Carlos Varela , after the magistrates of the Electoral Tribunal (TE) announced that they were getting up from the debate table on the electoral reforms.
The month of August 2021 ended with the highest homicide rate in the last three years, according to the director of the National Police, Jhon Dorheim, during an accounting of the most relevant criminal acts. Dorheim detailed that August closed with a total of 48 homicides, 19 more than those registered for the year 2020, when a total of 29 murders were perpetrated and 3 more than in 2019, when 45 murders were registered. The official specified that 83% of these crimes were committed with firearms and that most of them are related to drug trafficking.
The arrest of six people in the province of Los Santos was the result of an anti-gang operation carried out in this region of the country. This was announced by Nahaniel Murgas, of the Special Prosecutor’s Office against Illicit Association Crimes (gang activity), who confirmed that 15 search procedures were carried out on Tuesday. These actions led to the apprehension of the six people, who will be brought before a judge of guarantees. Some 150 police officers participated in the operation.