“Urgent” need to limit Ómicron onslaught

The arrival of the first cases of  Ómicron, the new variant of Covid-19 in several Latin American countries, has led Panama’s technical health team to express the “urgent” need to take the necessary actions to limit its entry into the country.

Lourdes Moreno, head of epidemiology at the Ministry of Health (Minsa), said on Monday in Telemetro Reporta: “We all know that the situation worldwide is difficult. What Panama has to do is maintain its health system in optimal conditions to provide a timely and effective response as has been given so far, “She said  that the Delta variant is the one with the greatest presence in the country, and “we have been able to respond.”

Moreno also affirmed that in the face of a slight increase in cases of the new coronavirus, the installed capacity is adequate.  With “intensified epidemiological surveillance, such in airports and ports, genomic surveillance, and flight traceability,” he said.

However, she emphasized that what is wanted is to reinforce anti-covid vaccination. She said that 89.7% of people over 12 years of age, which is the target population, already have the first dose, and 80% have a second. However, there are still people to be vaccinated.

“This is extremely important, we become aware of vaccination and especially for Ómicron and any variant, not to leave biosafety measures,”.

The epidemiological report of the Minsa on Sunday, December 5, reported that 222 new positive cases of Covid-19 were registered in Panama, for a cumulative total of 479,053.

There is a total of 7,374 accumulated deaths, since March 2020, when the pandemic arrived in the country.