On the morning of December 24, some 10 brigades of Cuban doctors arrived in Panama to collaborate with the care of those infected by COVID-19, and to support the increase in hospital capacity that the country's health authorities have installed at the most critical moment of the pandemic in this nation.
Lydia Margarita González, Cuban ambassador to this Central American nation, and Nadja Porcell, director general of Health of the Ministry of Health (
Minsa ), attended the Tocumen Airport, who welcomed the 231 members of the Cuban medical contingent Henry Reeve, specialized in assisting victims of natural disasters and serious epidemics.
Previously, the Panamanian authorities had already announced that this week that given the critical situation and the lack of specialists, they resorted to external help from professionals from Cuba and the United States, countries that will provide the largest number of expert personnel, in addition to Mexico, Colombia and Venezuela, according to the source.
As indicated by the Minister of Health of Panama, Luis Francisco
Sucre, this week the first foreign specialists would arrive, who will work temporarily in critical places in the capital, the neighboring province of Panamá Oeste and western Chiriquí, while confirming that the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) supports the certification of the curricula of foreign specialists.
For its part, the Ministry urged, through their social networks, specialist and general doctors to send their curriculum to the entity and support the health authorities with their knowledge in the fight against this pandemic.
We call on all specialists and general practitioners in the country who are not in the system to submit their resume and thus join the first line of battle against this pandemic, says
Minsa.
The Official Gazette, for its part, published on Wednesday the Executive's resolution that authorized
Minsa to sign the Cooperation Agreement for Emergency Response with its Cuban counterpart for three months that can be extended.
This document informs that there will be 10 teams made up of 'doctors, nurses and assistants trained to face disasters and serious epidemics, so that they provide services in different territories and community and hospital health care centers in Panama'.
The information was confirmed by the Political Office of the Cuban Embassy in Panama and the Tocumen Airport adds that this first group of doctors arrived in the country from Havana, Cuba, the IL-96-300 aircraft of the Cuban Aviation Airline.