Also for today there are a total of 2,323 deaths due to COVID-19, with 12 new deaths. The case fatality rate remains at 2.1%.

To date, a total of 86,796 recovered people are reported, while 20,989 cases remain active, of which 19,804 remain in isolation at home and 364 are in hospital hotels.

705 patients are hospitalized in ward and 116 patients are in intensive care units.

Minsa adds that in the last 24 hours a total of 5,288 new tests have been carried out to detect COVID-19, with a positivity of 12.8%.

To date a total of 464,739 tests have been carried out to detect COVID-19 and Panama has managed to reach 108,622 tests per million inhabitants.

Regarding the number of deaths according to age group; there are 21 deaths in those under 20; from 20 to 39 they count 117; from 40 to 59 there are 496; from 60 to 79 there are 1,112 and in people over 80 there are 577 deaths.

While regarding the number of cases according to age group, Minsa indicates that in those under 20 years there are 16,850 cases; from 20 to 39, 45,523 cases were registered; from 40 to 59 there are 32,941; from 60 to 79 they count 12,308; and in people over 80 there are 2,486 cases.

Coronavirus indicators with positive trend

Minsa highlighted that a positive trend is maintained in terms of indicators regarding the daily behavior of the coronavirus in the country.

It also highlights that there is also a positive trend in terms of the number of tests carried out to capture positive cases in the communities, which mark an increase, achieving an average of over 5,000 daily tests in recent weeks.

It is worth mentioning that these indicators are used as a reference by the National Government to develop the process of gradual reopening of the different economic and mobility activities.

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.