20 lawmakers flout  quarantine rules; citizen fined

At least 20 legislators from the National Assembly traveled between the end of February and the beginning of March to different countries in Europe and cities in the United States but, several of them ignored the quarantine recommended by the Health Ministry for those who have been in countries with cases of coronavirus.

Health Minister Rosario Turner was the first to highlight the issue during a visit to the Assembly to brief deputies on the pandemic: "I am aware of deputies who were in Spain, in China, and did not keep the quarantine. That is not responsible, because the next-door neighbor may be 65 years old,  may be diabetic, hypertensive, and it may be leading to a coronavirus crisis

 She told PRD deputy, Zulay Rodríguez, to stay at his home, since he had maintained contact with someone who, in turn, had contact with a person infected.

The minister's reaction arose after Rodríguez said that the mother of her driver has coronavirus. And on yesterday, Tuesday, the deputy proclaimed in the legislative plenary session that "nobody is going to tell me to go into quarantine, because what they don't want is for us to speak, to shut up and then come, unilaterally, through by decree, to legislate above the Assembly. "

Vice president quarantined

The second vice president of the Assembly, Tito Rodríguez, a member of the Liberal Republican Nationalist Movement (Molirena). who was in Morocco between February 21 and March 6, and returned to Panama, via Madrid,  told  La Prensa that as soon as he arrived back  in Panama, he decided to confine himself to his home as recommended by the Health authorities.

He said that he hasn’t been tested . as there is no need because he does not have any symptoms.

Unless the trips were for work reasons until now there is no data available on the website of the National Assembly says La Prensa . But, it is very likely that they did it with their own resources. The legislature had a long break last February February 21, the first day of carnivals. Some deputies returned to work in the second week of March.

Some have left the evidence s of their trips abroad on their social networks. like  Jairo Bolota Salazar, (PRD), who published photos on his Instagram account of his tour in Spain. In one photograph he is seen posing in front of Puerta de Alcalá, in Madrid, and another in Barcelona . The PRD members Benicio Robinson, Raúl Pineda, and Melchor Herrera also traveled. As well as Sellhorn Vallarino, from Cambio Democrático (CD), his partner Yanibel Ábrego, and Franscisco Pancho Alemán, from Molirena.

SANCTIONED
On Tuesday, February 17, it was reported that a patient who violated the quarantine in La Chorrera was sanctioned. "If the population insists on not obeying the instructions of the Ministry of Health, they will be forced to enforce the sanitary norms," ​​assured the vice minister of Health, Luis Fernando Sucre.

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