Panama reaches 439,599 cases and 6,875 Covid deaths (August 5)

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Panamanian Ministry of Health (Minsa) reported 818 new cases of covid-19 and 15 deaths from the disease, bringing the total to 439,599 confirmed infections and 6,875 deaths in more than 16 months of the pandemic.

Of the 15 deaths reported by Minsa, 13 occurred in the last 24 hours and 2 on an unspecified date.

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The Minsa report details that there are 96 hospitalized by the coronavirus in Intensive Care Units (ICU) and 466 in the ward, while 10,589 remain isolated at home and 310 in hotels, for a total of 11,461 active (contagious) cases.

In Panama, where covid-19 has a case fatality rate of 1.6%, one of the lowest in Latin America, 421,263 patients have been recovered since the country’s first case of infection on March 9, 2020.

On this day, 10,169 tests were applied to detect cases of covid, which showed positivity of 8%. To date, 2,929,481 tests have been applied in Panama.

As for the national vaccination process that began last January 20, 2,929,481 doses of the preparations of Pfizer, the main supplier in Panama, and AstraZeneca, which have delivered more than 3.8 million portions, have been administered up to this Thursday.

Pfizer’s drug is administered to priority groups, including children aged 12 and older with chronic diseases, while AstraZeneca’s drug is administered to over 30.

Authorities warned Thursday that the pandemic had forced the suspension of the school vaccination plan in Panama. Few parents take their children to health centers to receive immunizations, especially affecting children under 5 years of age.

The vast majority of schools in Panama’s education system, which serves more than 800,000 students, have been closed since March 2020, when the covid-19 pandemic began in the country, which so far has left at least 438,781 confirmed cases and 6,860 deaths.

The coordinator of the Expanded Program of Immunization (PAI), Itzel de Hewitt, made this Thursday a call to parents to take their children to the health centers of the Minsa and the Caja del Seguro Social (CSS), where they can be vaccinated free of charge against influenza, rotavirus, and pneumococcus.

Starting next Monday, nine private hospitals in the capital will join the vaccination process against covid, so far only developed by public institutions, providing their facilities and human resources to apply an estimated 11,500 weekly inoculations.