PANDEMIC – Panama enters  “phase of hope”  

The decrease in Covid-19 cases in recent weeks has changed the dynamics of hospitalizations throughout the country, both in the ward and in intensive care units.

According to a report by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the hospital situation at the national level registers an occupancy of 48% in ward hospitalizations, 51% in intensive care units (ICU) and 25% in  ventilator treatment rooms.

From February 28 to March 6 there has been a daily average of 893 admissions to the ward and 157 to intensive care; that is, a 38.3% reduction in ward admissions and 23.4% in ICU admissions, in relation to the averages recorded during the month of February.

The Ministry of Health (Minsa) reported  Thursday that throughout the country there were 840 hospitalized for Covid-19 and that of them, 732 are in the ward and 108 in ICU.

In the words of epidemiologist Arturo Rebollón, Panama is in the “phase of hope”, since although there are figures very similar to those of September, unlike at that time, now the trend is that cases are decreasing and not increasing.

During the first week of March, 4,032 total cases were reported, which represents an 84% decrease in cases compared to the first week of January.

“Several hospitalization rooms for Covid-19 patients have been closed and we are seeing that they are working to treat patients with other conditions. We are in a good setting,” he said.