Panamá is currently facing a strong increase in contaminations and deaths due to COVID-19, that’s why lockdown was reinstored by the end of 2020, until January 4th. Starting January 4th, the curfew is maintained in the provinces of Panamá and Panamá Oeste from 8pm to 5am, and from 7pm to 5 am in the rest of the country.
From January 4th to January 14th, people will face restrictions depending on ID (cédula) number and gender. Women will be allowed to go grocery shopping on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and men will be allowed the same on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Supermarkets, grocery stores, pharmacies, vet clinics, hardware stores and gas stations will be open until 7:30pm, enabling their employees to return home on time for the curfew. Taxis will also drive alternately, according to their license plate number. People over 60 and disabled people are allowed to go grocery shopping any day between 11am and 1pm, without restriction of ID number.
Presential work is only maintained in designated « essential activities », all other industries can not go to work until at least January 14th. This « suspension » of the workday means that employers can either implement home office, grant paid leave or put their employees on availability. If neither option is possible for the employer, the state allows a « suspension of the employment contract » until January 31st, after that date employees will automatically be reinstated in their jobs.
To make sure everyone respects those rules, companies need to apply for safe-conducts for their employees, issued by the State Department for Trade and Industry.
The authorities also decided to shut down the casinos and to suspend the national lottery from December 30th to January 20th, which is a big deal given how fond the panamanians are of their lottery!
On the weekend of January 9-10, all the country will be in complete lockdown. This is due to the commemoration of Martyrs Day, in reference to the popular uprising of January 9, 1964, when the panamanians started claiming sovereignty over the Panamá canal, at the time it was still controlled by the US.
The school year finished in December in remote mode, and it is already known that the new school year will also start virtually.