Panama reported this Monday, July 5, about 605 new cases of COVID-19, which raised the accumulated infections to 408,728 .

The epidemiological report of the Ministry of Health ( Minsa ) detailed that in the last hours there were 9 new deaths; which increased to 6,583 deaths from coronavirus in the country. The lethality of the virus is 1.6%.

The number of recovered is presented at 389,434 and active cases are set at 12,711.

Regarding this last statistic, the authorities specified that there are 11,606 people confined to their homes and 374 are staying in hospital hotels.

While in hospital wards there are 610 patients and 121 are confined in intensive care units victims of COVID-19.

In the last 24 hours, the Minsa has applied 6,707 tests, and maintains a positivity percentage of 9%.

##

NOTE: Some observers 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, the method used in Panama to define 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.

There have also been reports on the inaccuracy of the PCR test, which would compromise the figures mentioned above.

In lack of better information sources, PanaTimes continues to publish reports with the government (Minsa) announced figures. Readers are adviced to use their own judgement. We are happy to publish more accurate reports, if they become available to us or our contributors.

The information in this article is not intended to influence your decision whether to be vaccinated. You should conduct your own research when making a decision.