Poverty plays role in quarantine return

The reintroduction of  lockdown  is a temporary measure  introduced because of the surge in new cases of COVID-19 said  Minister of health Rosario Turner, at a Sunday June 7  press conference

She announced some changes in the rules governing mobility including that that adults over 60 years and people with disabilities can circulate from 7:00 am to 10:00 am, according to sex. In addition, and children can leave home at the time that corresponds to their parents, or responsible adults.

Jorge Motta former director of the Gorgas Commemorative Institute and head of the National Secretariat for Science, Technology, and Innovation said:“My concern d about this decision to restrict mobility, is that the increase in cases began to occur approximately on May 23, during the previous quarantine, which suggests that important measures such as diagnostic tests, detection of asymptomatic, identification of infected and their contacts, especially in the most affected areas, did not reach the required level.

On the failure of people to follow social distancing guidelines he said: “There are individual responsibilities to maintain health and not affect third parties, and State responsibilities to protect us. Both have failed to fulfill these responsibilities. Panamanians are in the midst of a storm, sailing in different types of boats, some weaker than others.  Covid-19 infects people suffering from poverty and overcrowding more easily, where the required distance is difficult to meet. That said, not keeping physical distance or not wearing masks explains only part of the problem we are experiencing.

“To be able to turn the curve, you have to do what you know and have been taught by world experiences: apply more diagnostic tests and bring positive tests to much less than 10%; identify those infected without symptoms, which can be more than 30% of the positives; diagnose the infected and give aggressive follow-up to their contacts, especially in the areas of  clusters where infections are concentrated and see how we can isolate those positives who cannot keep the required distance due to their socioeconomic situation.