I live in this country. Possibly of interest to some because the hope that maybe warm weather (seasonal changes) will help slow this thing down.
Panama has a population of about 4 million, It reported its first confirmed COVID case on March 8th. The Panama government has appeared to be very proactive and aggressive in following the 'social distancing' playbook the past 2 weeks, closing all schools and universities, cancelling all sports and public events, closing all non-essential businesses, closing all travel in and out of the country, forcing as much work-from-home as possible, latest twist tonight is now you can't be out on the street in your car unless a) alone, b) going to the grocery store, work, hospital, or pharmacy, and c) if a store run then the last digit of your SSN and current time of day has to match your govt approved time slot (e.g., if your last digit of SSN is a '0' then you are only allowed to be out on the street between noon and 1 pm to get groceries. That is your 1 hour daily allowed-out-of-house time slot.)
I'm probably missing a few restrictions. Each night around 6 pm here the Ministry of Health gives their daily update and typically has added a couple of more restrictions on top of the restrictions list. It has felt somewhat like that frog in slowly heated water analogy. Day-by-day a tightening of the noose. Unfortunately, like else where, there apparently is a notable segment of the population who have blown off being socially distant and have been continuing to do house parties, hit the beaches, etc. Thus, as the case counts have continued growing, the government is being forced to get more and more serious about enforcing the rules and getting more cops after them.
Also Unfortunately, thus far it sure seems like this COVID thing is pretty dang contagious, even in a tropical climate. Here are the total confirmed cases updates that have been reported each day:
Total Cumulative Confirmed Cases:
Day 1 (March 8th): 1
Day 2: 8
Day 3: 14
Day 4: 27
Day 5: 36
Day 6: 43
Day 7: 55
Day 8: 69
Day 9: 86
Day 10: 109
Day 11: 137
Day 12: 200
Day 13: 245
Day 14: 313
There have been 3 confirmed deaths thus far down here due to this. 12 of the 310 current cases (313 subtracting the 3 deaths) are in ICU.
Panama has a population of about 4 million, It reported its first confirmed COVID case on March 8th. The Panama government has appeared to be very proactive and aggressive in following the 'social distancing' playbook the past 2 weeks, closing all schools and universities, cancelling all sports and public events, closing all non-essential businesses, closing all travel in and out of the country, forcing as much work-from-home as possible, latest twist tonight is now you can't be out on the street in your car unless a) alone, b) going to the grocery store, work, hospital, or pharmacy, and c) if a store run then the last digit of your SSN and current time of day has to match your govt approved time slot (e.g., if your last digit of SSN is a '0' then you are only allowed to be out on the street between noon and 1 pm to get groceries. That is your 1 hour daily allowed-out-of-house time slot.)
I'm probably missing a few restrictions. Each night around 6 pm here the Ministry of Health gives their daily update and typically has added a couple of more restrictions on top of the restrictions list. It has felt somewhat like that frog in slowly heated water analogy. Day-by-day a tightening of the noose. Unfortunately, like else where, there apparently is a notable segment of the population who have blown off being socially distant and have been continuing to do house parties, hit the beaches, etc. Thus, as the case counts have continued growing, the government is being forced to get more and more serious about enforcing the rules and getting more cops after them.
Also Unfortunately, thus far it sure seems like this COVID thing is pretty dang contagious, even in a tropical climate. Here are the total confirmed cases updates that have been reported each day:
Total Cumulative Confirmed Cases:
Day 1 (March 8th): 1
Day 2: 8
Day 3: 14
Day 4: 27
Day 5: 36
Day 6: 43
Day 7: 55
Day 8: 69
Day 9: 86
Day 10: 109
Day 11: 137
Day 12: 200
Day 13: 245
Day 14: 313
There have been 3 confirmed deaths thus far down here due to this. 12 of the 310 current cases (313 subtracting the 3 deaths) are in ICU.
