Increase of  respitory infections prompts return of  masks

The Social Security Fund (CSS) has resumed the use of masks in facilities due to the increase in respiratory infections

The decision was adopted to mitigate respiratory cases and prevent their spread in CSS facilities, said Yelkis Gil, national executive director of CSS Health Services and Benefits.

He maintained that among the protocols that are implemented are offering masks or disposable tissues to patients who show cough or respiratory secretions.

The strategy will be accompanied by guidance from health officials on the correct use of face masks and the importance of hand washing, to avoid diseases such as flu, colds and covid-19.

The measures taken to return to the use of masks in health facilities will also be carried out by health and administrative officials, especially those who show respiratory diseases.

The measure of mandatory use of masks in public and private health facilities in the country was lifted by the Ministry of Health (Minsa) on Thursday, December 7, 2023, a measure that was imposed since the first case of coronavirus was detected in Panama in March. of 2020.

Until that date, health authorities had lifted most of the measures applied to combat covid-19. It only maintained the mandatory use of face masks in public and private clinics, hospitals, and health centers.

Authorities recommend that the population maintain biosafety measures in the face of the increase in respiratory cases.

According to the Department of Epidemiology of the Ministry of Health (Minsa) , the percentage of positivity of covid-19 in week No. 50 (from December 10 to 16) was 16.5%, when a total of 2,233 tests were carried out. , while in week No.49 (December 3 to 9) it was 10%, with a total of 1,797 tests.

Meanwhile, in 2022, in epidemiological week No. 50 (December 11 to 17), the positivity recorded was 14.9%, out of a total of 33,461 tests. While week No.51 of last year, the positivity was 12%, out of a total of 23,498 tests.

The head of Epidemiology of  Minsa, Lourdes Moreno, acknowledged that citizens are not going to health centers to be tested to determine whether or not they have the virus with the same rigor as they did in the first months of the pandemic.