The report also highlights that there were 11 new deaths, increasing the total count to 2,731 fatalities from the coronavirus nationwide.
In Panama some 113,379 people have recovered from COVID-19; while another 19,482 remain as active cases.
Meanwhile, some 18,270 remain isolated in their homes and another 570 are staying in hospital hotels after having been infected with this virus.
Hospitalizations in the wards for this Tuesday remain at 532 and about 110 are confined in intensive care units.
Some critics have argued that the Minsa reported case fatality rate (number of COVID linked deaths / number of known cases) in reality could be much lower, as the number of reported cases does not necessarily reflect the truth, as the testing does not cover the whole population, and many cases go undetected. At the same time, the government can't report what they don't know, but readers should note that the numbers may tell a different story from the reality.
Also, how a "COVID death" is counted is unclear, as many of the deaths correspond to underlying previous conditions, such as cancer, blood diseases, other age related diseases etc., and are reported as COVID deaths since the patient also had the coronavirus. On the other hand, many viruses are known to lower the patient's immunity and expose them to other diseases. As an example most HIV/AIDS patients don't die from the virus itself, but from other derived diseases such as pneumonia or regular flu.
In lack of better information sources, PanaTimes continues to report the government (Minsa) announced figures. Readers are adviced to use their own judgement.