Update # 7 COVID 19

It's been 12 days since my last post and the numbers have significantly increased.  In addition, the quarantine measures have been tightened. Last week, for the first time, Panama was completely shut down on Saturday and Sunday.  No one could go out for groceries, or pharmacy meds, or family excursions, etc.  If people were caught violating the quarantine, they were detained, fined, and their car confiscated.  Nevertheless,  over 12,000 people were processed for violating the mobility restrictions.  Because of all these violations, the Health Ministry has declared both Saturday and Sunday of the coming weekend as absolute lockdown as well.   Alcohol sales in Panama remain prohibited as well.   According to graphs displaying Panama's numbers in comparison with other countries in Latin America, we've kept the curve relatively flat and the numbers low.  Nevertheless, the numbers have really jumped from where they were 12 days ago. 

As of today, April 16th, Panama's total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases is 4,016.  There have been 109 deaths and 98  hospital recoveries.  A total of 17, 850 tests have been done.  Total hospitalized COVID patients is currently 326, and 3483 patients are in community isolation, either at home or in hotels.   Within the community isolated group,  symptomatic recovery is reported for 1809 individuals monitored in the clinics, and  laboratory confirmed recoveries in this group is 23.  The daily numbers for new cases has not yet dropped off, but these increased numbers could be due in part to additional testing.  Today's total number of new cases is 265. 

Below is a chart of the numbers for Chiriqui Province, which has less than 3% of the total national cases of coronavirus.   Four patients from Chiriqui have died.

Update # 6 COVID 19

As of end of the day April 4, 2020, there are a total of 1801 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Panama.  There are 229 hospitalized cases, 74 in intensive care, the others in regular hospital eds.  1513 cases are on home care, and 13 cases are reported recovered.  There have been a total of 46 deaths. 

Chiriqui now has a total of 57 cases.  The very informative and complete table pasted below was provided by RetenChiriqui.  Boquete has not seen any increase in cases, but there have been scattered cases throughout the province.  Two of the 46 national deaths occurred in Chiriqui---one in Las Lomas near David and the other in Volcan. 

Update #5: Coronavirus

Lourdes Moreno, chief of epidemiology at the Panama Ministry of Health reported today, April 1, 2020,  that the total number of cases of  coronavirus in Panama has reached 1317.   Total new cases in the last 24 hours is 136, and total recovered patients since the first case are 9.  

Of the total number of cases reported nationally,  198 are hospitalized, with 63 patients in ICU and 135 in regular hospital beds.  1078 cases are on home care and 9 have recovered. The number of deaths has increased to 32.

Over the last weekend, it appeared that the daily rate of new cases was decreasing, with only 88 being reported on a Saturday and 86 on Sunday, however the numbers have increased again, so that may have been the result of less testing or less presentation to health centers.    It remains to be seen how things play out.

Boquete, gratefully, still only has 2 cases.  As of March 31st stricter national quarantine measures were enacted, aimed at further reducing the amount of people out and about at any given time.  Woman are now only allowed out for shopping and essential purchases on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.  Men go out on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.  Sundays are total quarantine days. These measures were presumably implemented to deal with incidences of ransacking and looting in Curundú and some of the poorer barrios en Panama City.  This hasn't been a problem in Chiriqui, and from my experience out and about today, the police aren't strictly enforcing these tighter limits locally.

We have one more week to go and then we'll see how things progress...Still no alcohol sales, even in the supermarkets. All the wine and liquor aisles were cordoned off at Romeros.  :-)