Panama’s Health Minister Luis Francisco Sucre, is leaving office  “to travel abroad to undergo a medical evaluation and procedure," said a brief statement on Tuesday, February 15, from the Ministry of Health.

The Vice Minister of Health, Dr. Ivette Berrío, will assume the position of Minister on Wednesday, and the current Secretary-General, José Baruco, will serve as Vice-Minister.

"Once Dr. Sucre completes the recovery period indicated by the doctors, he will return to his usual work at the head of the Ministry”, added the statement. Sucre took over as Minister in June 2020, replacing Rosario Turner, who was relieved of her post amid a severe increase in covid-19 cases.

Panama, a country of 4.28 million inhabitants, accumulates 743,653 confirmed infections and 7,960 deaths from covid-19. Now, the country is emerging from a fourth pandemic wave fueled by the omicron variant. The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) indicated in its most recent report that in Panama at least 57% of its people have a complete vaccination schedule and 72% have received at least one dose, which places the country among those with the highest proportion of the population fully immunized, above the global average of 53%.