2020 is filled with events revolving around the coronavirus pandemic. And Latin America is no exception to this issue. The first time the coronavirus was documented in Latin America was back on February 26th, when Brazil issues a public statement with the first case in Sao Paulo. From that point on, the coronavirus pandemic spread to several other countries, leading to drastic measures. And when it comes to coronavirus in Panama, the official data shows that on April 24th, the confirmed cases reach the number of 5166 patients and 146 deaths. So, let’s see up next how did Panama start to manage the coronavirus pandemic, along with everything you need to know about coronavirus.
How Panama attempts to limit the coronavirus outbreak
Panama started to use several measures to isolate its citizens, including teleworking, school teaching, and stay at home campaigns. All these approaches were meant to teach the population that it is always best to be safe than sorry. Of course, the citizen response was a bit slower, as there were plenty of people who didn’t take the time to think about this seriously. Moreover, the Government enacted the following measures to flatten the curve during this coronavirus pandemic:
On the 13th of March of 2020, Panama declared a state of emergency. This meant that up to $50 million of national resources were freed to aid in combating coronavirus. The state of emergency will remain in place for 180 days with a possibility of extending the period. Further to this declaration, the president ordered the temporary closure of all nonessential businesses (check this list of businesses offering delivery), suspension of all international passenger flights into and out of Panama excluding humanitarian and cargo flights and on the 25th of March, a nationwide lockdown went into effect, allowing people to go out only for two hours per day based on the last number of their national ID or passports if the person is a foreigner.
Coronavirus pandemic in Panama and separation of sexes
The latest safety measure and regulation of the Panamanian government issues raised some controversies. The government decided to combat the spread of coronavirus by separating genders. As such, today, only women are allowed to leave the house to purchase necessities on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Men in Panama will be permitted to go outside only on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. And no one can leave their homes on Sundays. All these restrictions are meant to last for 15 days. Moreover, everyone can spend outside their homes for only two hours based on the last number of their national ID or passport if the person is a foreigner. Overall, Panama was the first country in Latin America to adopt serious measures to combat the coronavirus pandemic.
Update: Since April 11th no one can leave their homes Saturday and Sundays.
So, each news station on the globe was a bit surprised by how coronavirus in Panama was dealt with. But we can say with certainty that those measures were more efficient than it was the case with other countries on the globe. And the upside of such restrictions is that Panama is doing relatively good when compared to other Latin American countries. Experts say that Panama managed to diminish the rate of appearance for new cases due to the fact that the country went into lockdown days after the first cases were confirmed. And even the United Nations speak highly about this approach.
Moreover, Panama’s government allocated a lot of technological resources, so that several coronavirus tests are done on residents. As such, Panama is one of the top nations in the region that managed to effectively test the population and isolate positive cases. And besides this, there were created drive-through testing facilities in some areas with most coronavirus cases. Seeking out the infection and undertaking 11,776 tests by April 8, Panama became the country with the second-highest number of tests per capita in the region after Chile.
Update: As of today, April 24th, Panama has carried out 23,534 tests.
How the coronavirus pandemic will affect traveling to Panama
Another measure taken by Panama was to close the borders extremely early. And even though many officials believed this is a rather drastic measure, it turns out to be life-saving for plenty of citizens. The impact of COVID-19 in Panama is still uncertain, but almost two months after the first confirmed case, the coronavirus pandemic has not overwhelmed the hospitals.
At this point, you might ask yourself about the effects on travel due to coronavirus. And to be honest, this is yet to be determined. Specialists believe that after the pandemic, all travelers will become more cautious than never, which might affect businesses in tourists. Anyhow, back on 22 March, Panama forbid all domestic and international travel activities. The airports are closed, and no one, including Panamanian citizens, is allowed to travel to and from the country, this measure was supposed to last for 30 days but has been extended for 30 more days starting on April 22nd at 11:59 pm. Copa announced it expects to restart reduced operations on June 1st.
Good News for Panama:
- Moody’s reaffirms the country’s risk rating at Baa1 in the midst of the pandemic. Amidst the crisis due to COVID-19 and forecasting an estimated contraction of 1% in the country GDP the agency ratified on Wednesday 15th, the Country’s risk note of Baa1 with a stable outlook. This rating is the Agency’s opinion about the capacity of the country to pay its debt.
- Panama reached the peak of coronavirus outbreak between the 5th and 11th of April without overrunning the health system which as of today has 40% of the Country’s ICU beds are available.
- Rt or the effective transmission rate is below 1 which means that at the moment one person only infects one person. And the number of days for a case to double is 16 days which indicates the transmission is decelerating.
The bottom line
Indeed, these are challenging times for anyone on this planet. The coronavirus pandemic is somehow an invisible enemy that has a direct impact on how we perform our daily routine. Still, understanding the need to follow those safety measures is more than necessary to overcome the pandemic. Hence, no matter if you live in Panama or not, it is best to follow the government’s advice and comply with the official restrictions. Staying safe and conscious about the risks will only help you keep up your health. And, of course, don’t forget to eat healthily and exercise daily. Your body still needs a lot of care, especially in such times.
