Unions ask to remove the US from the list of high-risk countries for covid-19, Minsa responds
According to several unions, the US represents one of the most important markets and has a large percentage of its population vaccinated against covid-19.
The Panamanian Association of Hotels (Apatel) asked the Ministry of Health (Minsa) to remove the United States from the list of high-risk countries for covid-19 .
According to Apatel, it is necessary to adopt this decision since it will be possible to rescue the arrival of visitors from the United States, which before the pandemic represented the main engine of entry into Panamanian tourism.
" Tourism in Panama has kept working hand in hand with the health authorities, implementing biosecurity measures to prevent the spread of the virus, however, it is necessary to regain confidence, restore demand and reposition the sector to help rescue the post covid-19 economy. "Said the union in a statement.
The National Chamber of Tourism of Panama (Camtur) also made the same request to Minsa. The union warned that the measure is causing cancellation of reservations for passengers and groups bound for Panama, not only for the end of the year, but also for the high season of 2022.
“ We have been able to observe that cases in the United States continue to decline and at the same time have a significant percentage of its population vaccinated. This market has historically been our main source of visitors to Panama, as well as being the largest tourist expense in the country, ”Camtur said.
For its part, the Panamanian Association of Business Executives (Apede) said that every four visitors that enter Panama is from the United States, which represents one of the most important markets and the largest generator of tourist income for the country.
In this regard, the Minister of Health, Luis Sucre, said that despite the fact that Panama currently maintains good control of the pandemic, the restrictions cannot be completely eliminated.
" The United States itself maintains its measures, they demand that everyone with all the reason in the world, they demand that if you go to the United States you have to be vaccinated, Europe also demands it ... I think we have to take great care Well what we have achieved, Panama at the moment has good control of the pandemic, what we cannot do is lose what we have already gained , ”Sucre said.
According to Apatel, it is necessary to adopt this decision since it will be possible to rescue the arrival of visitors from the United States, which before the pandemic represented the main engine of entry into Panamanian tourism.
" Tourism in Panama has kept working hand in hand with the health authorities, implementing biosecurity measures to prevent the spread of the virus, however, it is necessary to regain confidence, restore demand and reposition the sector to help rescue the post covid-19 economy. "Said the union in a statement.
The National Chamber of Tourism of Panama (Camtur) also made the same request to Minsa. The union warned that the measure is causing cancellation of reservations for passengers and groups bound for Panama, not only for the end of the year, but also for the high season of 2022.
“ We have been able to observe that cases in the United States continue to decline and at the same time have a significant percentage of its population vaccinated. This market has historically been our main source of visitors to Panama, as well as being the largest tourist expense in the country, ”Camtur said.
For its part, the Panamanian Association of Business Executives (Apede) said that every four visitors that enter Panama is from the United States, which represents one of the most important markets and the largest generator of tourist income for the country.
In this regard, the Minister of Health, Luis Sucre, said that despite the fact that Panama currently maintains good control of the pandemic, the restrictions cannot be completely eliminated.
" The United States itself maintains its measures, they demand that everyone with all the reason in the world, they demand that if you go to the United States you have to be vaccinated, Europe also demands it ... I think we have to take great care Well what we have achieved, Panama at the moment has good control of the pandemic, what we cannot do is lose what we have already gained , ”Sucre said.
Comments
Ellie Simpter 5 year ago
The CDC data linked is TWO MONTHS OLD and absolutely false. Questions you should consider when you evaluated the very old data: 1) how many health departments are included in this data (hint, read the footnotes)?; 2) how is 'fully vaccinated' defined? 3) how are the hospitals determining if someone is 'fully vaccinated'. One final note -- statistics can prove whatever point you would like - discernment is a valuable human trait.
Jeff 5 year ago
Nice response, ME.
Not you. 5 year ago
ME, you're 100% incorrect. Show the data that supports your claim that vaccinated people are dying from the virus just as much as non-vaccinated people. I'll go first. https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#rates-by-vaccine-status
ME 5 year ago
The whole idea that unvaccinated travelers represent any higher risk than vaccinated travelers is simply false and being perpetrated by the drug companies that want to sell vaccines. Data from around the world prove that vaccinated people are carrying and dying from the virus as much as anyone. Panama has seemed to be reasonable in its response. Look at the data.