Panama is showing a significant increase in new cases of Covid -19 Even higher than what was observed at the same time in 2020 and 2021," said Ciro Ugarte director of Health Emergencies of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), at the weekly conference on the epidemiological situation in the region.

He said that this seems to reflect that the variants of the virus are more transmissible and that the virus is increasingly given the opportunity to pass from person to person and that it does so more easily.

According to reports from the Ministry of Health (Minsa), the Omicron variant with the BA.1 and BA.2 sublineages is predominant in Panama.

Ugarte recalled that one of the measures that have proven effective against the new coronavirus, apart from other actions, is the proper use of masks, especially when in contact with other people.

"Protect yourself, get vaccinated, and protect others, because this pandemic is going to stay with us and it will stay longer if we don't implement those measures," Ugarte stressed.