Public Offices will be Closed on February 16th and 18th for Carnival 2026
The Executive Branch established a 16-day schedule in which public servants will be required to work an additional hour.
The Tuna de Natá group will not participate in the 2026 carnival due to a dispute with the mayor. Public offices close for two days for Carnival. The National Government ordered the closure of public and municipal offices throughout the country. It will be on Monday, February 16th and Wednesday, February 18th, 2026. The decision was formalized in Executive Decree No. 3, signed and promulgated this Monday, and applies to all public entities: national and municipal. The closure falls in the middle of Carnival.
Carnival 2026 runs from Saturday, February 14th to Tuesday, February 17th. Not everything stops. The decree makes that clear. Essential services continue: hospitals, clinics and polyclinics, IDAAN (National Water and Sewerage Institute), security and emergency services. The Panama Metro also remains operational, as do Immigration, Transit, Tocumen International Airport, Customs, and other entities linked to basic services, ports, and airports.
The Executive Branch established a 16-day schedule in which public servants must work an additional hour to compensate for those days. According to the decree, overtime must be worked after the normal closing time on January 12-16, 19-23, 26-29, and 30, and also on February 2, 2026. The hours not worked will be made up. This is stated in the decree. Employees must work an additional hour after their normal closing time.
