Panama adds 633 new cases of COVID-19 and reaches 115,919 infections
With a total of 633 new cases of COVID-19, Panama raises its number of infections to 115,919 as indicated by the Ministry of Health this Monday, October 5.
In addition, the virus has claimed the lives of 7 people in the last 24 hours, leaving the number of deaths from coronavirus in the country at 2,430, which represents a fatality rate of 2.1%.
According to the epidemiological report, of the active patients 19,805 are in home isolation and 397 are confined in hotels; while another 864 are hospitalized (745 in ward and 119 in intensive care).
To date, Panama reports a total of 92,423 clinically recovered patients.
The Minsa indicated that in the last 24 hours 4,143 tests were carried out, for a positivity percentage of 15.3%.
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.