Panama modestly celebrates Mother's Day due to pandemic
Panamanians, used to visiting and bringing gifts to mothers on their day, celebrate this year with modesty. In parallel, trade and the economy that have been hit by the pandemic did not see the buying boom of previous years on Tuesday.
On the date, the extension of the night curfew hours in the province of Panama also comes into force in the face of a rebound in coronavirus cases for weeks, while the authorities strengthened calls for Panamanians to stay home. As of this day, the dry law will also be applied in the province of Panama, which includes the eastern area and the district of San Miguelito in addition to the capital, to try to stop infections.
This year has been very hard due to COVID-19. In previous years I have invested up to 500 dollars and I have managed to sell 1,000 and up to 2,000 dollars in merchandise, but this year I only invested 60 dollars because the movement is not good, said Catalina Carvajal, who has a table in front of a supermarket where she offers cards, bows, flowers and simple arrangements for Mother's Day.
I'm still here herding (encouraging) the sale, because it has not been possible to sell everything for Mother's Day, she added. Let's hope and God willing that for Christmas and New Year things is fixed a little. Ms Carjaval sells her merchandise in San Miguelito, one of the sectors with the greatest contagion.
The Panamanian economy, based on the services sector and which had begun to experience a decline after a decade of growth, has suffered a severe blow to its economic activities in recent months. Almost 300,000 labor contracts were suspended at the beginning of the pandemic, when the country put strict containment measures. The business sector affirms that to date only 35% of suspended contracts have been reactivated.
Based on official information from the Center for Economic Studies of the Chamber of Commerce of Panama, the country will have a drop in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 14.6% in 2020.
This year has been very hard due to COVID-19. In previous years I have invested up to 500 dollars and I have managed to sell 1,000 and up to 2,000 dollars in merchandise, but this year I only invested 60 dollars because the movement is not good, said Catalina Carvajal, who has a table in front of a supermarket where she offers cards, bows, flowers and simple arrangements for Mother's Day.
I'm still here herding (encouraging) the sale, because it has not been possible to sell everything for Mother's Day, she added. Let's hope and God willing that for Christmas and New Year things is fixed a little. Ms Carjaval sells her merchandise in San Miguelito, one of the sectors with the greatest contagion.
The Panamanian economy, based on the services sector and which had begun to experience a decline after a decade of growth, has suffered a severe blow to its economic activities in recent months. Almost 300,000 labor contracts were suspended at the beginning of the pandemic, when the country put strict containment measures. The business sector affirms that to date only 35% of suspended contracts have been reactivated.
Based on official information from the Center for Economic Studies of the Chamber of Commerce of Panama, the country will have a drop in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 14.6% in 2020.