News
Wednesday 9th February 2022.
February 9, 2022
According to the epidemiological report of the Ministry of Health (Minsa), in the last 24 hours, 22 deaths have been reported due to the new coronavirus. In addition, in the daily balance, four deaths from previous dates are updated for a cumulative of 7,886 deaths and a lethality of 1.1%. This Tuesday, 3,180 new cases of people infected with Covid-19 were detected. According to the report, in the last hours 17,789 tests were applied to detect the infected, for a positivity of 17.8%. Meanwhile, active cases total 33,763, of which 33,171 are in isolation at home and 592 are hospitalized. Those who are in isolation are divided into 33,024 in their residence and 147 in the so-called hospital hotels. In addition, 519 are in the wards and 73 remain in intensive care units in hospital centers in the country.
As of yesterday Tuesday, the application of the second dose of the pediatric vaccine against Covid-19 began in paque Omar, San Francisco district. The health authorities have asked parents to carry identification for children between the ages of 5 and 11 who are going to be immunized. Similarly, these children should have breakfast and be well hydrated.
The Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office and the National Police apprehended two former heads of the Ministry of Health (Minsa) who, last August, were separated from their positions due to a possible conflict of interest due to their relationship with a company in charge of carrying out swab tests. They are Ana Lorena Chang Chevalier, who was the regional head of Public Health, and Leonardo Labrador Chávez, former national head of Epidemiology at Minsa. The information on the raids and arrests – which were carried out in the district of San Miguelito – was released this Tuesday by the attorney general in charge Javier Caraballo.
The National Immigration System confirmed this Tuesday, that in 2021, 38 people with terrorist ties were identified when they traveled through Panamanian territory. According to the Immigration authorities, these identifications were achieved through the use of the biometric capture tool. It is specified that a total of 72 alerts were detected last year with this system and that the 38 people related to terrorism came from Palestine, Jordan, Iraq, Yemen, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Similarly, it was specified that another 22 people were detected for identity theft. from Africa; specifically from Somalia, Mali, Egypt, Togo and Sierra Leone. Regarding other arrests in 2021, it is detailed that for drug-related crimes, three cases of people from the European continent who arrived in Panama from Great Britain, Albania and Romania were detected. Regarding 2022, Migration confirmed that four people who had a red alert for cases of homicides, terrorism, money laundering and drug trafficking were identified.
Independent voices agreed that it is necessary to unite to present a proposal in the 2024 elections, with which the country can be transformed. The issue entered the public debate because singer-songwriter Rubén Blades called on independents to unite in a common front to try to alter the prevailing corruption and administrative mediocrity with ideas and concrete proposals. The singer-songwriter Rubén Blades gave a boost to this dynamic with the support he gave to the independents and, particularly, to the Movimiento Otro Camino, led by former presidential candidate Ricardo Lombana. “I am glad to know that a Panamanian of the stature of Rubén Blades agrees with us that we need a party like the movemiento otro camino to integrate the entire independent proposal,” Lombana assured when he spoke about the subject.
The Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ) has just declared unconstitutional several articles of the General State Budget Law corresponding to the year 2021, related to the funds allocated to the entities that impart justice in the country, including the Judicial Branch itself. The decision was made known through an edict released this Tuesday, by the secretary general of the CSJ, Yanixsa Yuen , although the decision of the plenary session of the Court is from last December 23. Articles 7 and 8 of Law 176 of 2020 include a table with the current and capital expenses of all State entities. Meanwhile, article 28 dictates the budget of the Judicial Branch for 2021, which was $182.2 million. The other three articles demanded (29, 30 and 31) refer to the budget of the Public Ministry. That of the Attorney General’s Office was $195.5 million and that of the Administration Attorney’s Office, $6.6 million. If the budgets of the Judicial Branch and the two prosecutors are added, the figure of $384.3 million is obtained, which represents 1.59% of the total State budget for 2021. The Constitution orders that it must be 2%.