27 cases of covid-19 in S. America travelers

Since regulations governing the entry into the country of travelers from South America came into force, on March 31 and  rejected by  the private sector. 27 positive cases of Covid-19 have been detected, after the application of 3,943 tests, in Tocumen International Airport

The 27 positive cases are analyzed by the Gorgas Memorial Institute to determine if they are of the Brazilian variant.

With the first cases in Panama of the Brazilian variant of, detected in March, the authorities issued an Executive Decree 260 on  March 31, 2021, that is established that said people from South American countries must comply with the presentation of a negative result for the virus 48 hours before arrival.

In addition, another test will be applied free of charge, which if negative will have to comply with a five-day quarantine and a new test will be performed to rule out the presence of the virus; if so, the quarantine is terminated. Otherwise, the protocols for positive cases are applied.

The measure was rejected by the private sector that asked that the regulation be eliminated. The authorities say that every week the measures taken are evaluated and that adjustments are likely to be made.

The Minsa reported that since the Tocumen air terminal resumed its activities in October 2020, 84,424 tests have been carried out and a total of 1,208 positive people with coronavirus have been detected.