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.  :-)