April 20, 2020
I got quite a bit done this weekend. As part of my latest plan to not going mad, I’ve gone back to gardening and woodworking. Both were hobbies of mine in the past, but as things go, I got tied up in too many work-related activities and all hobbies got pushed to the wayside. I’ve built two bird feeders, pulled the chainsaw out of the box, cleaned up all of the planters and even played fetch with our equally Obsessive-Compulsive dog, Mickey.
I know that not everyone has a house with a nice backyard. I know that I’m fortunate. But, if you’re just sitting around doing nothing or if you’ve run out of Netflix series to binge-watch, you absolutely NEED to create a life routine and pick up some sort of hobby. My wife and I are both going to start learning to play the keyboard. We purchased one for our boys and after several hours of classes over a couple of years, they are absolute MASTERS of “Mary Had a Little Lamb” and “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”. In absolute fairness, they also rock “Brahms Lullaby”. This is also a great opportunity to start studying for that certification that you’ve been putting off. Or, maybe taking in a little religion would be good for your soul. Maybe even learn a little something of that “other” religion, whichever that may be. Set the mood, set the temperature of your A/C or the angle of your fan, get the coffee brewing or some wine aerating (unless that’s still illegal when you read this) and read a good book. Why? Well, as you’ll read in the next few pages, we’re going to be in this pickle for at least another month. And before anything gets back to anything resembling “normal”, it won’t be for another month after that; at that point we’re either going to be smarter and stronger, or stupider and fatter. That’s up to you.
TOP NEWS and TIDBITS:
PANAMA EXTENDS SUSPENSION OF INTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS FOR 30 DAYS
The Civil Aviation Authority of Panama (AAC) issued Resolution No. 053-DG-DJ-AAC that extends the suspension of international commercial flights for an additional 30 calendar days. The resolution that was published in Official Gazette No. 29006, states that the measure will begin at 11:59 p.m. Wednesday April 22, 2020, for public health reasons. This measure applies to international commercial aviation passenger flights and general passenger aviation.
Humanitarian flights and those needed to transport medicines, products, medical-hospital equipment, vaccines and any other public health supplies required to face the pandemic by COVID-19 are excepted.
The Panamanian Government ordered to suspend the arrivals and departures of international flights since last March 22, through Executive Decree No. 244 of March 19, 2020, for which humanitarian and cargo flights have been carried out, to transfer foreigners or return nationals stranded in other nations. The decree is signed by Gustavo Pérez, director of the Civil Aeronautics Authority of Panama.
https://www.telemetro.com/nacionales/2020/04/20/aac-prorroga-suspension-panama/2789584.html
PANAMA’S “LEY SECA” OR “DRY LAW” IS HERE TO STAY AND HAS BROUGHT AN INCREASE IN LIQUOR SMUGGLING
Panama’s Dry Law is not going away anytime soon. President Nito Cortizo´s Executive Decree 507 of March 24, 2020 prohibits the sale, distribution and consumption of alcohol anywhere in the country. In theory, that includes the confines of individual residences. Those who purchased prior to this decree being published are probably out of spirits by now. Some are even looking for sneaky methods of obtaining beer and wine via alternate means. This weekend, a taxi driver sped through a road block, was chased down by the police and eventually crashed his car during the hot pursuit all because he was smuggling cheap Panama beer. One article stated that over 600 cases of alcohol was confiscated at the Costa Rican boarder with Panama. The “Dry Law”, which is very similar to US “Prohibition” from 1919 to 1933 was implemented now in Panama as an extreme measure to manage social distancing and to reduce crime. How ironic that just like US Prohibition, smugglers are on the rise as people look to ignore this decree.
PARENTS OF 31 PRIVATE SCHOOLS SUPPORT VIRTUAL CLASSES
Parents from 31 private schools support education through virtual classes and distanced themselves from the National Union of Parents, Candidates and Associations of Parents of Educational Centers of Panama (UNADEPA), which supports the suspension of classes.
In a statement dated April 19, the parents’ associations of the 31 schools ask Unadepa to identify who their members are. Nor do they claim to know the so-called National Association of Parents and Private School Students (ANPAC).
“We wish to clarify that the parents representing the schools and the Parents’ Associations of the private schools subscribed here, we do not know or are not part of UNADEPA and that therefore their communications and surveys do not represent us and have not taken us Be aware ”, states the statement, signed by the associations of parents of the Isaac Rabin, Brader Panamerican School, Colegio de Panamá, Episcopal de Panamá, Inter-American Academy of Panama (AIP) of Costa del Este and Cerro Viento, The Panama Preparatory School, Instituto Atenea, La Salle, Javier, La Salle de Margarita (Colón), Oxford International School, San José La Salle de Colón, Instituto Episcopal San Cristóbal, Montessori, San Agustín, San Gabriel, Saint Patrick, Soyuz Bilingual School, Cultural Institute, Cadi Bilingual Academy, Our Lady of Peace, European School, Harmony Bilingual Center, Badí, Jesús de Praga Bilingual School, Enrico Fer me, Academia Latina, Las Esclavas and Real.
“We urge UNADEPA and ANPAC, for transparency and clarity in their communications, to publish the list of private schools that are part of their respective organizations,” they add.
The 31 associations close the statement expressing their support for their respective schools, so that they comply with the educational guidelines that the Ministry of Education (Meduca) dictates to private schools, in order to be able to choose to continue education through virtual classes.
On April 15, Minister Maruja Gorday de Villalobos announced the immediate suspension of virtual classes. However, the next day, President Laurentino Cortizo warned that schools can continue classes, “if they meet the requirements.”
Public and private schools have been closed since March 10, when health authorities announced the first death from the coronavirus in Panama. The deceased turned out to be the director of the Francisco Beckmann school.
This Monday, Gorday de Villalobos will offer a press conference to broaden the topic.
GOVERNMENT HAS DRAFT ON REOPENING THE COUNTRY AFTER COVID-19
The Minister Counselor, José Alejandro Rojas, announced this Sunday that the National Government already has a draft prepared in relation to the reopening of Panama after the COVID-19 pandemic.
He explained that the document has been developed taking into account the experiences that other countries have had.
“Within this draft that we are handling of the issue of how the reopening is planned, one begins to take different issues into consideration… we are currently evaluating all the successful and unsuccessful models, in life we must know what can be done that It is good and what is wrong to not make those mistakes, so we are seeing everything the world is doing and based on that, we have that first draft that has to go through a whole process, because in the end these are health decisions ”Rojas explained in the Open Sunday Debate program.
Initially, it is planned to implement a micro plan to reopen specific sectors applying biosafety protocols and decisions will be made by industry, by probability of contagion based on industry and by region.
On the other hand, he indicated that a dynamic reprogramming of the budget is being evaluated in the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF), in order to make adjustments based on the situation in the country, “understanding that there will be a giant drop in State revenue”.
https://www.telemetro.com/nacionales/2020/04/19/gobierno-cuenta-borrador-reapertura-pais/2787639.html
COLOMBIA’S “SMART ISOLATION” PROPOSAL:
Brett´s Comments first: This proposal is intense, extreme, excessive, immoderate, inordinate, exorbitant, (hold on, let me review my Roget’s Thesaurus… …ah, here we are…) severe, ardent, fanatical, vehement and maybe just a bit “coo-coo”. But what’s worse is that there are other countries that have expressed certain similar intentions including the likes of the USA.
The first 10 points aren’t really bad at all. But the more you read, the further to the floor your jaw drops. Read below and look where it says “for a period of 18 months …” and “for a period of 30 months…” Wow! I know this isn’t related to Panama directly, but it most certainly could be Panama within another 2 months.
How “smart isolation” would work after April 27:
President Iván Duque released the Decalogue of the Compulsory and Intelligent Compulsory Preventive Isolation, which would allow the country to resume productivity without social life, in the context of the emergency due to the Covid-19 pandemic. These measures are also being discussed in the Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany and the United States.
The 10 points of the decalogue are:
- Children and young people must be at home until at least May 30. Universities, colleges and kindergartens will not be opened so that they do not become propagation vectors.
- Adults over 60 must stay home until the end of May.
- People with preexistence must also stay at home.
- The closure of the borders will be maintained.
- Domestic flights may not become available until an evaluation is made when the emergency ends.
- Public events, bars and clubs will be closed.
- Companies that can must implement teleworking.
- Protocols on security and distance must be adopted in the main sectors of society, such as the use of masks.
- It is necessary to work hand in hand with local authorities for the protection of public transport because “there we can have many centers of agglomeration, and we do not want these agglomerations to make us go back on what we have won against the virus,” said the president. .
- It will be ensured to recover the productive life, but not the social life.
The country will reopen its doors to only 3 sectors that are the ones that will begin to reactivate the country’s economy
Agro sector, Labor Sector, Manufacturing sector
- Agro: production and supply of farm products for its inhabitants
- Labor: construction companies may reopen their construction works but must maintain strict guideline and Biosecurity regulations. In other words, only 23% of the staff will work on site, thus alternating the worker only 3 times a week AND the administrative staff working in telework.
Example: of 100 workers on site, only 20 people can go to work daily and every two days the same worker will attend his post including Sundays and holidays.
- Manufacturing sector:
- Textile: Only for making it but only for work at home.
This forces large companies to hire labor and set up clothing workshops in their homes. - Distribution: they can only move the production once a week to storage sites
- Sale: only in a virtual way can you sell clothes of any kind. Do not open changes of garments of any kind, for which the Ombudsmen will do oversight of the state and PQR of the users.
- Textile: Only for making it but only for work at home.
There are exceptions within the manufacturing sector such as:
- Barber shops hairdressers: These establishments must register on a Platform that the government will assign for said process in which by appointment the service must be requested.
- They cannot serve more than 10 clients per day.
- They will not be able to offer home delivery.
- Pharmacies: they will continue to provide their work normally. Without any problem and with schedules established by each city hall.
- Cyber / internet rooms: they will NOT be able to offer computer management services to any user, however they must continue to provide services for making copies, document work, process management, etc. under the strictest security controls understanding that they cannot offer services to anyone under age or over 70 years of age.
- Chain stores: Under the national and departmental decree, they will continue to provide supply services. In the usual time without exceeding the allowed time.
- Neighborhood stores: they will operate under the orders issued by the mayor’s office of each municipality in the country.
- Restaurants / cafes: they will continue as is the service currently offered. Only delivery and nothing in person.
- Banking entities: they cannot exceed a maximum of 6 hours open to the public.
- Urban Transport only, Rural does not open its reopening until a new presidential order
- Mass Transportation: it will only provide its services without exceeding the maximum capacity by 35% in the fleet
- Taxis: they will only continue to provide the service through a digital platform.
- Retail trade supply companies. They are obliged to follow their routes with the respective sanitary and biosafety standards.
Remember that recreational and mass meeting establishments may not reopen their doors for a period of 18 months.
Velodromes, Gym, Stadiums, Nightclubs, Pubs, Public / private parquets
Social life will change worldwide and everything we know until today will be restructured
Elections at a national level will not be held for a period of 30 months of possible national confinement so as not to divert public resources.
Virtual systems / computing / services center will be able to continue working in a virtual way from their homes
https://id.presidencia.gov.co/Paginas/prensa/2020/Presidente-Duque-decalogo-seria-Aislamiento-Preventivo-Obligatorio-Colaborativo-e-Inteligente-pandemia-covid-19-200417.aspx
NEW US AMBASSADOR IN PANAMA
United States President Donald Trump today announced the appointment of Erik Paul Bethel to be the United States Ambassador to Panama.
Trump had announced the appointment of a new ambassador in July 2019.
The appointment of Bethel means the normalization of diplomatic relations between the United States and Panama, after only ministerial advisers of commerce were maintained. The last ambassador in Panama was John Feeley who resigned in December 2018, due to alleged differences with the Trump government.
But relations between the United States and Panama were cooled after then-President Juan Carlos Varela, breaks relations with Taiwan, and announces the start of relations with China.
Erik Paul Bethel, from Florida, will be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Panama.
Mr. Bethel recently completed his term as Alternate Executive Director of the World Bank in the United States. In that role, Mr. Bethel spearheaded a number of initiatives, including streamlining World Bank operations and promoting new technologies such as machine learning, artificial intelligence, and blockchain.
A financial professional with more than 25 years of experience in private equity and investment banking in Latin America and Asia, Mr. Bethel is a recognized expert in Chinese investments and financial activities in the Latin America region. He began his career in New York covering Brazil, Colombia and Mexico. He later moved to Mexico City as an investment banker and then to Shanghai, China, as a private equity professional. He has been a member of the Board of Governors of Opportunity International, a non-profit organization that provides financial services to people living in poverty in developing countries.
Mr. Bethel graduated from the US Naval Academy. USA, where he was an Olmsted scholar, Cox Fund scholar, and battalion commander. He earned an MBA from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he was a Milken Scholar. He speaks Spanish, Portuguese and Mandarin.
Brett’s comments: I’m really trying to keep these reports non-biased and as lighthearted as you can when talking about an international pandemic. But this appointment brings back the MI guy from within and I start to over-analyze. First of all, Ambassador Bethel isn’t a politician, he’s primarily a banker. To be even more precise, he’s “a recognized expert in Chinese investments and financial activities in the Latin America region”. He was also a private equity professional in China. (I really secretly hope you’re pronouncing “China” like Trump does. “Chai-Nah”) There’s no doubt that Ambassador Bethel will be used to his fullest potential in Panama and the region to rip apart any financial agreements China may have had or hoped to have in Latin America. Don’t let the part on his resume about having been a member of the Board of Governors of Opportunity International throw you off. This certainly shows that he’s a good human being when it comes to dealing with impoverished people in developing countries, but that’s just a splash of smoke with a glimmer of mirrors. He’s not coming for that. He may assign someone to look this over for him as a side gig, but if Trump is sending him here with those “other qualifications”, you can bet top dollar it’s going to be used to its fullest potential.
Now let´s analyze the two photos I found on Ambassador Bethel. The first photo shows that of a confident banking businessman with an oriental wood design in the background. The second photo is a Latin-American-focused politician, with a version similar to that of the American flag in the background (but it’s not the American flag). First photo: pinstriped tailored suit from Hong Kong and a striped silk tie. Second photo: a more loosely fitting gray suit purchased downtown and a cornflower blue tie he got at a three-for-one special in Vegas 5 minutes before a conference after realizing he forgot to pack them in his carryon. First photo: manly-man´s black hair with an exquisite pinch of salt. Second photo: sandy brown hair from too much sun, or is that Clairol’s Natural Instincts Men’s Hair Color, M9 Light Brown from Walmart??? First photo: Head tilt to the right with a cracked smile that says, “Oh yeah, you can trust me with your money.”. Second photo: “Oh yes Mr Tax Payer, I´m Lookin you straight in the eye like the honest politician-apprentice that I am, (but my mouth is shut so I don’t screw up and promise you something that I’ll regret later.)”
SALVOCONDUCTO – MY FAVORITE TOPIC BY FAR IN THE ENTIRE MONTH OF APRIL
The good news, I did finally get my Salvoconducto during the course of this weekend. I had to use my powers of persuasion, a little dose of “Pride and Ego Up” from my interrogation days, 253 telephone calls to the MICI hotline and shower them with my sob story of how I need to save the world, one Horizontal Property at a time. In the end, I think the poor kid on the other end just got sick of me and begged someone from the Reconsiderations Division to give me a break so he could shut me up.
Conducting proper follow-up today for friends and clients, the validation link, login and registration pages were down more than they were up. Uploading employees to the already approved Operations Notices was hit and miss. Most people were still sweating bullets by the close of business, as nearly half of all companies who feel that their company should be in the list of exceptions (and probably should be) still didn’t have authorization.
Comunicado #20 came out this afternoon. The Minister of MINSA told us in a news conference that the Salvoconducto process would be extended to the 23rd and at that point, if needed, they would extend it out even further.
TRANSLATION:
Salvoconductos will be valid until next Thursday, April 23.
To facilitate the validation of salvoconductos to those companies who require mobilization and are under the exceptions to the Executive Decree number 507 and its “Fe de Errata”, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MICI) will extend the services of the enabled web platform as well as the telephone attention lines for the users for this reason until Thursday, April 23.
As of Friday, April 24, only the people with validated salvoconductos will be able to circulate.
Panama, April 20, 2020.
STATUS UPDATE:
PANAMA REPORTS 136 DEATHS FROM COVID-19, THERE ARE 4,658 ACCUMULATED CASES
- 4,658 positive cases
- 191 new cases
- 136 deaths
- 10 new deaths
- 3,954 home isolation (953 hospital hotels)
- 364 are hospitalized (266 in ward / 98 intensive care)
- 204 recovered by laboratory
- 1,809 clinically recovered
20,996 tests have been carried out, of which 16,023 have been negative.
Regarding the number of cases and deaths according to age group, 1,920 cases were registered in patients between the ages of 20 to 39; 1,755 cases between the ages of 40 to 59 years;
An interesting and sad statistic are the deaths so far in Panama. According to the report today from the Ministry of Health, of all those infected between the ages of 60 and 79 years, there have been 78 deaths and those over 80 years of age there have been 37 deaths. That means that the remaining ages from 0 to 59, there have only been 21 deaths.
Percentage of total deaths:
0 to 59 = 39.8%
60 and older = 60.2%
The 0 to 59 age group also represents 89.6% of the entire Panamanian population. The fact that 60.2% of the deaths are only amongst 10.4% of the entire population is mindboggling.
END NOTES
Here’s a little more recognition to those who have been inspiring me during the last few days:
First, there’s a name that used to be plastered throughout Panama social media links and was synonymous with things like “Panama Guide”, “shoot-from-the-hip journalism” and “piecing together PCs in an afternoon”. And like clockwork, he was certain to call me at least once a week and start his opening statement with “Guess what I just did to Okke today?!” Yep, there were those who hated him for all the wrong reasons and those who loved him for those exact same wrong reasons. Haha. My buddy Don Winner, who’s doing excellently well on the coast of Oregon running that Orca rehabilitation observatory. Thank you for your guidance and friendship throughout the years.
Javier Mendez – We mourn together at the loss of your father; a good man who created a legacy by teaching you the ways of a warrior. Mission first, family always. Even after giving you the opportunity to take the time you needed, you chose to stow away your sorrow saying only that “there will be time later to mourn” and with the blessings of your beautiful wife Silkar you kept your chin up and our mission first. Anything you need….
Stay safe… Stay healthy… And by all means STAY HOME!!…
