In Panama this Saturday, December 26, 2,064 new cases of coronavirus were presented, which raises the number of accumulated infections to 228,724.
The epidemiological report from the Ministry of Health adds that in the last 24 hours, 43 people have died from COVID-19, and to this day the total death toll from the virus is 3,799. The case fatality remains at 1.7%.
Some 183,522 people have recovered in the country from this disease and the rate of active cases increased to 41,403.
On this last statistic, it is broken down that 38,683 people remain confined to their homes and 689 are staying in hospital hotels .
While in hospital wards there are 1,846 patients confined with coronavirus and 185 remain in intensive care units.
In the last hours in the country some 9.78 new tests were applied, which yielded a 21.1% positivity.
NOTE:
Some observers have argued that the Minsa reported case fatality rate (number of COVID linked deaths / number of known cases) in reality should 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, the method used in Panama to define how a "COVID death" is counted is also 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.
There have also been reports on the inaccuracy of the PCR test, which would compromise the figures mentioned above.
In lack of better information sources, PanaTimes continues to publish reports with the government (Minsa) announced figures. Readers are adviced to use their own judgement. We are happy to publish more accurate reports, if they become available to us or our contributors.