The Ministry of Health of Panama (Minsa) reported on Sunday, September 27, that deaths from COVID-19 in the country rose to 2,340, after 17 new deaths from this virus were recorded in the last 24 hours.
On the number of new infections, 447 were reported, which increases total number of infections to 110,555 in the country.
This figure is revealed after some 3,584 new tests have been performed, which reflected a positivity of 12.5%.
In the country, some 87,215 people have recovered from COVID-19 and another 21,000 remain with a positive diagnosis.
The report details that there are 19,812 people isolated in their homes by the coronavirus; and another 381 are kept in hospital hotels.
Regarding those hospitalized in wards, the Minsa details that there are about 699 patients; while about 108 are in intensive care units.
NOTE:
Some critics 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, 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.
In lack of better information sources, PanaTimes continues to report the government (Minsa) announced figures. Readers are adviced to use their own judgement.