Panama resumes international flights after 7-months

Panama's Tocumen airport resumed international flights on Monday after nearly seven months of lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The resumption comes as part of a broad nationwide reopening of economic activities that also includes hotels and casinos.

It also comes at a time when the Central American country has kept a stable rate of infections and deaths from the new virus for two months after the mid-year peak that almost exceeded hospital capacity.

But experts warned the reopening, which means a sharp increase of the amount of people in the streets and in public transportation, could lead to a resurgence of cases.

Tocumen International Airport, the country's main air terminal and an important connection point in Latin America, had operated only humanitarian flights since April and a month ago began to allow the controlled transfer of passengers.

Starting Monday, seven international airlines are expected to operate, and another four are expected to join later this week.

The reopening of the airport includes health measures such as requiring travellers to submit a negative COVID-19 test before boarding.

Panamanian authorities aim to revive their economy with a plan of gradual reopening that began in June and has already included the industrial and maritime sector, professional services, construction and wholesale and retail trade.

So far, Panama has reported 120,313 cases of coronavirus and 2,491 deaths, according to a count by Johns Hopkins University.

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(Image: Pixabay)