Meanwhile, 22 deaths from this virus were reported, bringing the total number of deaths to 3,309. The case fatality rate remains at 1.8%.
13,769 new tests were applied to detect coronavirus, for a positivity rate of 17.1%.
There are a total of 159,070 recovered patients and 25,400 active cases.
Of the total active cases, there are 23,966 people in isolation, of which 23,290 are at home and 676 in hotels.
While 1,434 patients are hospitalized, of them 1,262 in ward and 172 in intensive care.
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 highly compromise any figures mentioned above.
In lack of better information sources, PanaTimes continues to report the government (Minsa) announced figures. Readers are adviced to use their own judgement.