Panama is taking some new and extreme measures to slow the spread of COVID-19 outbreak. Starting on Wednesday, women in Panama will be permitted to leave the house to get groceries and run any necessary errands on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Then on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturday’s men will be able to leave their homes for necessities. Yes, Panama is enforcing gender separation in the face of this pandemic.
Panama officials say that everyone will have to stay home on Sundays. This sex-based segregation will last for 15 days. The country is already under quarantine, but theoretically, these new measures will make it easier for Panamanian police to limit the number of people going out in public by making sure only half the population is allowed out at a time.
"The great quantity of people circulating outside their homes, despite the obligatory national quarantine, has led the national government to take more severe measures," said a statement by Panamanian President Laurentino Cortizo on Twitter.
The Panamanian government had already ordered all citizens to stay inside except for emergencies and to buy necessities such as food. But the guidelines weren’t effective in reducing the number of people still going out and socializing, putting the country at risk for a higher number of cases of COVID-19.
During the segregation period, on their designated days both men and women will only be permitted two hours to complete all of their errands. Panama currently has 1075 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 27 deaths, according to health officials. The country has been applauded as being one of the most proactive countries in the South American region to reduce transmission of the disease.
In addition, the country has stopped all domestic and international travel. It has shut down airports, and since March 22nd has denied even its own citizens from entering the country. An evening curfew also keeps Panamanians from leaving their homes between 9 am and 5 pm, but new measures will mean the nightly curfew will begin at 5 pm.
Written By: Devon-Clare Banfield
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