Panama West curfew and dry Law will come into affect Dec. 4

The Minister of Health Luis Francisco Sucre announced Tuesday, December 1st 2020, a curfew and dry law for Panama West will come into affect December 4th 2020.

The new curfew for Panama West is scheduled to begin in the province due to an increase in cases of Covid-19. 

Panama West curfew starting December 4th

- Curfew is Monday through Sunday from 9:00 pm to 5:00 am. 

Panama West Dry Law starting December 4th 

- It will be prohibited to sell liquor from 7:00 pm to 5:00 am.

- No delivery service for the sale of alcoholic beverages should be available during that time.

Sucre added that at the national level, people who violate the curfew and the dry law will be sanctioned with the fine applied by the Ministry of Health (Minsa), and will not be able to collect the solidarity bonus corresponding to the date after the violation.

Sucre stated that the extension of the curfew and the implementation of the dry law was decided after holding meetings with with local mayors and representatives of the townships most affected by the pandemic. 

The new director of Epidemiology, Leonardo Labrador, said in regards to the new Panama West curfew: 

 "in the province of Panama West almost all the townships maintain a high Rt and the number of infections increases daily."

Townships in Panama West with the highest Rt are:

  • - Villa Rosario (1.97)
  • - Santa Clara (1.82)
  • - Burunga (1.79)
  • - Herrera (1.77)
  • - Bejuco (1.76) 
  • - Nuevo Emperador (1.58). 

Traveling within Panama during new covid-19 restrictions (Dec. 4 2020) 

The health ministry explained that mobility within the country will be maintained. This means people can still travel to and from Panama West and through the area freely, and from one province to another. 

While  open passage of the Pan-American highway will be maintained, checkpoints will be re-established and the internal streets of Panama West will be subject to restricted mobility. 


Note: We’re not sure what restricted mobility in Panama West’s internal streets means for locals moving around in the Pacific beach area and beyond. It could mean increased traffic due to checkpoints, or we could see little change in mobility. We will continue to monitor the situation and offer update as we see these changes come into effect.

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