Panama accumulates 298,019 cases of the covid and 4,787 deaths from the disease

Panama, Jan 17 (EFE) .- Panama reported this Sunday 1,750 new cases of covid-19 and 49 deaths from the disease, which has already accumulated 298,019 confirmed infections and 4,787 deaths in more than 10 months of pandemic.
There are 2,677 hospitalized patients, 233 in intensive care units (ICU) and 2,444 in the ward, while 50,796 are isolated at home and 760 in hospital-hotels, the daily report of the Ministry of Health (Minsa) indicated.
“In the last 24 hours there have been 44 new deaths, and also 5 deaths have been updated, totaling 4,787 accumulated” since last March.
The fatality rate of covid-19 in Panama is 1.6%, among the lowest in the region.
In the last 24 hours, 9,663 tests were applied to detect the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which causes covid, which yielded a positivity of 18.1%.
Panama, a country of 4.2 million inhabitants, has been experiencing an aggressive rebound in covid for more than two months that has led it to set record numbers of new cases, deaths and diagnostic tests performed, and ranked as the nation with the second highest incidence rate of the new coronavirus in the continent.
The authorities are adapting medical facilities, sports and field hospitals to increase hospital capacity, which is “very committed” as recognized by the Minsa.
The speed of the pandemic rebound has begun to slow down as a result of the restrictions and quarantines implemented since last December and that, in the case of the capital and its surroundings, began to be lifted on January 14 through a gradual schedule that will extend until March, 15th.
The first batch of vaccines purchased from Pfizer is expected to arrive in the next few days to begin the vaccination process, which will be carried out in phases, Health Minister Luis Francisco Sucre reiterated this Sunday.
The Panamanian Government has allocated 56 million dollars for the purchase of 5.5 million vaccines: 3 million from Pfizer; 1,092,000 from AstraZeneca; 300,000 from Johnson and Johnson, and 1,112,410 from the COVAX mechanism, according to official information.

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