The report adds that there were 22 new deaths, bringing the number of deaths to 3,331 from coronavirus in the country. The case fatality of the virus is 1.7%.
According to the report, 160,641 recovered patients are reported.
To date, 16,400 tests were applied, for a positivity percentage of 17.1%.
Active patients total 26,613, 25,165 people are reported in home isolation, 24,469 of whom are at home and 696 in hotels. The hospitalized number 1,448 and of them 1,265 are in the ward and 183 in the ICU.
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.