Panama authorizes return of public to stadiums

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Sports fans and athletes are celebrating after a year of closure as a containment measure against Covid-19. The decision includes the mandatory compliance with the biosecurity measures established by health authorities, such as the use of masks and hand sanitizer, social distancing and the ban of alcoholic beverages.

In statements to TVN Noticias, members of the Plaza Amador club acknowledged that playing without spectators all this time was very difficult, since they are the 12th player and offer encouragement.

Meanwhile, fans are thankful for the disposition that allows them to again experience the emotion of being close to players, during mid-season of the different local championships and the international commitments of the national sport for the World Cup Qatar 2022 qualifiers and the Olympics in Tokyo, in July.

Health Minister Luis Francisco Sucre announced the return of fans to the stands to support their teams, given the low levels of infections, deaths and daily hospitalizations recorded in recent weeks.

Recently, the president of the Panamanian Football Federation Manuel Arias had requested the partial return of spectators, based on the “good management we have had so far, with minimum levels of infection in the stadiums where the LPF (Panamanian Football League) is played.”

During the 2020 Clausura Tournament, minimal cases of infection were reported, in a tournament that had no bubble or public access to the games, except for a small number of special guests per team.

The LPF is currently played in eight stadiums in the national territory, located in the capital city, Colon in the Caribbean, La Chorrera in the neighboring province of West Panama, Penonome, Chitre and Atalaya in the central region, and David in western Chiriqui.

In the past 24 hours, the island nation registered 395 new cases of Covid-19 for a cumulative total of 359,516 in a little more than a year of pandemic, while deaths amounted to 6,177 with a lethality rate of 1.7 percent, according to the Ministry of Health.

Source: Prensa Latina