PANAMA students must remain in their classrooms during the eclipse of the sun on Monday August 21 says the Ministry of Education (Meduca).

In a communiqué, the organization urges teachers to ensure that their students do not observe the phenomenon directly to avoid damage to their eyes, and has called for all students to be indoors between noon and 4:30 p.m.

The phenomenon, which will be partially seen in Panama, will begin at 1:15 p.m., peaking at 2:28 p.m., and will culminate at 3:33 p.m., with a total duration of two hours and 28 minutes.

"Given this, we seek to prevent permanent eye damage in children and adolescents who attend our schools, as this  can happen when observing the eclipse without due precaution ", says the bulletin

Meduca urges the educational community not to observe the eclipse directly unless using special level 14 filters, commonly used in welding works.

"If the necessary care is not taken, burns can be generated in the retina that could cause partial blindness, "says the press release.

A solar eclipse happens when the Moon interposes between the Earth and the Sun, leaving a zone

partially dark (penumbra) and a very narrow one of total darkness (umbra).

This Monday, August 21, the maximum totality of the solar eclipse will occur along a narrow strip that traverses 12 US  states, from Salem, Oregon, on the west coast, to Charleston, South Carolina, on the east coast.