PANAMA CITY (AP) – Panama allowed beauty salons, retail stores and car parks to open on Monday after five months of blocking caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The government has also allowed public and structural projects to resume and non-governmental organizations to reopen to revive a faltering economy.
“We can’t wait for our homes anymore,” said José Vergara, 60, reopening his small hairdresser on the outskirts of the capital for the first time since March.
There was a question about how many other people were still obeying quarantine anyway.Traffic jams have become commonplace again and reports of visits to beaches and parties at officials’ homes are more frequent.
“I think we can start climbing at 40 and start to take to the streets,” said Dr. Jorge Luis Prospero, former representative of the Pan American Health Organization in Ecuador and Nicaragua.”I rely on the fact that since then on July 1, we have maintained a solid number of new instances and deaths.”
Panama’s economy will contract from 2% to 4% this year and unemployment has doubled to 14%.
Hairdressers and barbers will have paintings with appointments and 50% of their capacity.The sale to detail will be legal online or by phone with delivery of purchases or pick-up at designated locations.
On Sunday, Panama reported nearly 82,000 infections and more than 1,700 deaths.