Marco
“Women are allowed out on Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays, whereas men can only go out on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.”
Panama 🇵🇦 “We have been in lockdown for about five weeks now. I think the Panamanian government was smart about the way that it rolled out and communicated about confinement regulations. The first week had a 9pm to 5am curfew, the second week a 5pm to 5am curfew; since week 3 we have been on total lockdown with a time slot based schedule. The last digit on your ID or passport number determines the time at which you are allowed to go buy groceries or medicine. My number means that I’m allowed to go outside between 4pm and 5:30pm. The elderly have an extra half an hour; they can shop from 11 am until 1 pm.
Since April 1st 2020, the government added gender based restrictions to the time slot system: Women are allowed out on Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays, whereas men can only go out on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Everybody is ordered to stay in on Sundays. The sale of alcohol is also prohibited in order to keep public disorder down. I believe this has a positive effect on limiting the risk of domestic violence in the country.
All of these regulations were announced in advance so people had time to prepare for and adapt to them. Rules are heavily enforced and overall respected by the population. IDs and body temperature get checked before entering the supermarket, where wearing a mask is now mandatory. Panama has a strong military tradition and there are numerous roadblocks and checkpoints interspersed throughout the city. Personally I believe the government’s response – so far – has been relatively effective in keeping the number of COVID-19 cases (~2k) and fatalities (~60) under control.”
