I continue to be impressed with the way Panamanian authorities are handling public safety in the face of this viral outbreak. It's March 18th, and the numbers have jumped to 109 confirmed cases, with the city of Santiago reporting 2 and Soná, in Veraguas province, reporting 1 case. No further deaths have been reported, and the Ministry of health has sent additional personal protective and respiratory equipment to the hospital in Soná. (This is not a highly populated region so it mustn't have been as well equipped as the hospitals in Santiago.) Santiago is 2.5 hours from David, the second largest city in Panama and located in Chiriqui province. To date, [knocking on wood] there have been no reported cases in Chiriqui province. Other than the 3 Veraguas cases, all have been in the Panama City regions. In all, there are 55 men affected and 54 women.
On a national basis, the President has issued a health curfew from 9 pm to 5 am. The sale of alcohol has been prohibited through April 7th. In Boquete, the mayor has issued an additional financial penalty for violation of this curfew. A $100 fine for first offense and a $500 fine for second offense will be imposed. Stores that violate the alcohol sale restriction will be fined $50 for first offense and $500 for second
At first glance it's hard to comprehend a relationship between the coronavirus and alcohol. In fact there isn't, other than people gathering in close proximity. Many of the expats, myself included, consider these measures overkill, but people do like to party and I imagine it might prevent some social gatherings.
