Panama reaches 113,342 accumulated cases with 747 new infections
Minsa details that for today 15 new infections are counted, raising to 2,387 the number of deaths in the country due to COVID-19, with a case fatality rate of 2.1%.
Regarding hospitalizations, a total of 676 patients currently remain in the ward, while 107 are in intensive care units.
The statement adds that 89,903 recovered people have been reported to date. Approximately 776 people recover per day, which indicates a rapid recovery trend, highlights the Minsa.
On the other hand, 21,052 cases that remain active, of which 19,920 are in hospital hotels and 349 remain in isolation at home.
He adds that in the last 24 hours 5,803 new tests have been carried out to detect COVID-19 and the positivity rate is 12.9%.
To date, a total of 488,048 tests have been carried out and Panama has managed to reach 11,407 tests per 100,000 inhabitants.
Regarding the number of deaths according to age group, 21 deaths were registered in those under 20; from 20 to 39 they count 119; from 40 to 59 there are 504; from 60 to 79 there are 1,149 registered and in those over 80 there are 594 deaths.
He added that regarding the number of cases according to age group, there are 17,540 cases in those under 20 years of age; from 20 to 39, 46,762 cases were registered; from 40 to 59 there are 33,794; from 60 to 79 they count 12,666; and in over 80 2,580 cases.
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.