The Ministry of Health (Minsa) of Panama reported 926 new cases of covid-19 and 25 deaths from this disease in the last 24 hours.
With these figures, the total number of infections rose to 320,379 and that of deaths to 5,270 for a case fatality rate of 1.6%.
The Minsa indicated in its epidemiological report that 1 death was updated.
6,692 tests were applied to detect covid-19 in the last hours, for a 13.8% positivity.
To date, 38,692 active cases and 276,417 recovered patients have been reported.
A total of 36,259 are confined, of which 35,781 are in their residences and 478 in hospital hotels, while 2,433 are hospitalized, of which 2,186 are in the ward and 247 in intensive care.
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.