All of Panama Declared a Dengue Epidemic Zone
By: David Arias
It’s official, all of Panama has been declared a dengue epidemic zone. On February 5, 2014, the Panamanian Ministry of Health made the following declaration, “the Ministry of Health considers it urgent and imperative to declare the country as an Epidemic area”. This after the prevelance of dengue in the country, which has killed 13 people over the past 2 months.
According to the Ministry of Health there were 1,703 dengue cases in Panama, as of Monday February 3, 2014, 6 of which resulted in deaths.
The Ministry of Health has ordered the population, including public institutions and private companies of the country, to “implement strict compliance of the Contingency Plan against dengue”, which requires the general population, to “immediately remove all mosquito breeding sites which exist, or may exist in the interior of their homes/properties or establishments, and their land.”
In addition, to counter the recent backlog in garbage collection in Panama, the Ministry has ordered the Autoridad de Aseo, the government institution responsible for waste management in the country, other companies in charge of collecting waste, and all municipalities, “to take all additional measures necessary to eliminate any accumulation of trash, and maintain the areas in communities and commercial sectors free of such waste.” According to the Ministry of Health, waste sites provide ideal conditions for mosquito breeding.
The Ministry has also ordered all news media, and social media outlets in the country to “join in the fight against dengue” by communicating “all preventive measures to minimize the risk of transmission”, at no cost to the state.
The decree was put into force on February 5, 2014.
Below is an English translation of the official decree:
REPUBLIC OF PANAMA
MINISTRY OF HEALTH
EXECUTIVE DECREE No. 638
Of February 5, 2014
which declares all national territory an dengue Epidemic Zone.
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC
In exercise of his legal and constitutional authority
CONSIDERING:
That Article 109 of the Political Constitution of the Republic provides that it is the function of the state to safeguard the health of the population of the Republic. The individual, as part of the community, is entitled to the promotion, protection, conservation, restitution and rehabilitation of health, and as the duty to conserve it, understanding that as the complete physical mental and social wellbeing of the individual.
the law of 66 November 10, 1947, that approves the Sanitary Code of the Republic of Panama, points out that it is up to the Ministry of Health, to take measures to make disappear all of the cause of communicable disease or cause of death, as well as to control of all unhealthy factors of local or national importance.
That similarly, the above legal excerta provides that its provisions shall apply in preference to any other legal provision, in terms of public health, and obligate natural or legal persons, and public or private entities, whether national or foreign, which exist or will exist in the future, transiently or frequently, in the territory of the Republic.
That pursuant to the Decree of Cabinet No. 1 of January 15, 1969, which created the Ministry of Health for the execution of the actions of promoting, protection, rehabilitation and repair of health, under Constitutional mandate, are the responsibility of the state, and as a board of executive function, is responsible for the determination and conduct of health policy of the National Government in the Country;
That in article 5 of Law 33 of November 13, 1996, by which standards are set to control transmitting vectors of dengue, declares that social media cooperate to disclose, in their social spaces, as a social campaign, educational messages related to dengue, without cost to the State.
That the Ministry of Health, before the issues of public health due to dengue in the country, issued Resolution No. 1231 of December 13, 2013 that declared a health alert in the country.
That before the increase in dengue cases, and the situation facing the country, the Ministry of Health considers it urgent and imperative to declare the country as Epidemic area;
That, considering all the above and so forth in Article 138 of Act 66 of 1947, the General Directorate of Public Health of the Ministry of Health has asked the Executive Branch to adopt extreme and urgent methods to meet the present emergency.
DECREES:
Article 1. Declare all national territory as a dengue epidemic zone.
Article 2. Order the entire population, public institutions, and private companies in the country to implement strict compliance of the Contingency Plan against dengue developed by the Ministry of Health.
Article 3. Order the Authority of Urban and Household Cleanliness, and all companies with responsibility for disposal of solid waste, including the municipalities of the country, take all additional measures necessary to eliminate any accumulation of trash, and maintain the areas in communities and commercial sectors free of such waste.
Article 4. Order all of the local establishments of interest in health, including works in construction, immediately remove any stagnant water on their properties that pose a risk as a breeding site for mosquitos.
Article 5. Order the Regional Directors of Health to ensure strict compliance with all of the measures contained in this Executive Order, and send to the General Directorate of Public Health, of the Ministry of Health, a weekly report of the execution of contingency plans against dengue.
Article 6. Order the general population, to immediately remove all mosquito breeding sites which exist, or may exist in the interior of their homes and their land.
Article 7. Order owners of empty lots, and the respective municipalities, to take appropriate measures to eliminate and prevent the existence of any kind of existing breeding sites, and shrubbery within them, for a term of fifteen (15) calendar days.
Article 8. Request all media in the country to join in the fight against dengue, and communicate, at no cost to the state, all preventive measures to minimize the risk of transmission.
Article 9. Warn natural and legal persons that all necessary punitive measures against those perpetrators of this Executive Order and related regulations in terms of public health.
Article 10. This Executive Decree comes into force after its promulgation.
COMMUNICATED AND IMPLEMENTED
Issued in the city of Panama on the the fifth (5th) day of February, two thousand fourteen (2014).
Signed:
RICARDO MARTINELLI B.
President of the Republic
&
JAVIER DIAZ
Ministry of Health
___________________________________________________________________
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