Decrease in main indicators, but pandemic fourth wave continues

Although there has been a decrease in the main indicators of the pandemic –such as deaths, hospitalizations, and positivity- the fourth wave of covid-19 in Panama has not passed says Melva Cruz, national director of Public Health of the Ministry of Health (Minsa), who called on the population to maintain biosecurity measures such as physical distancing, use of masks and frequent hand washing. In addition, the official urged the population  to get the vaccine against Covid-19, “since there is a significant percentage of people lagging behind in immunization against the virus.”

She explained that to estimate the end of the fourth wave, the Rt (retransmission) must be reduced below 1; positivity is less than 5%.

The epidemiological report from the Minsa on  Thursday, February 24, reveals that in the last 24 hours 11 people died from Covid-19, which brings the accumulated number of deaths to 8,058.

There were 787,  new infections detected after applying 8,631 tests, which showed positivity of 9.1%. The total number of cases since March 2020, when the pandemic arrived in the country, is 753,694.