Panama: Authorities close land, sea, and river borders with Colombia on May 20 due to COVID-19 activity /update 31

Panama closes land and water borders with Colombia on May 20 due to COVID-19 concerns; limited changes made to other restrictions.

Event

Authorities in Panama have closed the nation's land, sea, and river borders with Colombia effective May 20 due to COVID-19 concerns; no suspensions of air travel with Colombia have been announced, however. The majority of other COVID-19 restrictions in force in Panama remain generally unchanged, although certain amendments have been made in some cases.

Except as otherwise noted, Panama's ports of entry remain open to all international travelers. All arriving passengers are still subject to enhanced health screenings. Persons entering Panama must complete an online sworn affidavit before travel and must present a negative result from a COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or antigen test taken within 48 hours before arrival; persons failing to produce the pre-departure test result will be tested at the airport at their own expense. Passengers who test positive upon arrival must quarantine at a government-approved location and take a second test after seven days of isolation. If the second test result is also positive, the traveler must remain in quarantine for another seven days. Starting May 24, travelers with digital vaccine certificates proving that they have been fully vaccinated at least two weeks prior to their arrival and who have a negative COVID-test in their IATA Travel Pass will be exempt from further testing requirements at the airport.

Travelers who have been in India, the UK, South Africa, or any South American country within the 15 days prior to departing for Panama remain subject to additional restrictions, including at least three days of quarantine. These travelers must present a negative result from a COVID-19 PCR test taken within 48 hours prior to arrival. A second COVID-19 test will be required at the airport at the traveler's expense. Individuals who test negative at the airport will have the option of quarantining for three days at home or in a government-approved facility. Such travelers must undergo an additional COVID-19 PCR test on the third day of quarantine; those who test negative at this point may leave isolation. Individuals who test positive on the third day will be required to undergo a real-time PCR test performed by the Gorgas Memorial Laboratory (Instituto Conmemorativo Gorgas de Estudios de la Salud/ICGES) and quarantine for 14 days at a government-approved facility.

Domestic Measures
A nightly 00:01-04:00 curfew remains in force nationwide. Essential services, critical transportation, and international travelers arriving or departing within those hours are exempt from the curfew. Nonessential businesses are permitted to stay open until 23:00. The provinces of Chiriqui and Veraguas, however, have a nightly 20:00-04:00 curfew in place Mondays to Saturdays, with a longer curfew running on weekends from 20:00 each Saturday until 04:00 the following Monday; non-essential commercial and industrial activities are fully suspended on Sundays.

Most nonessential businesses may operate with certain capacity caps. Bars and restaurants are open for outdoor service only. All businesses are required to comply with strict sanitation, hygiene, and social distancing protocols, including ensuring that staff and customers use protective facemasks and maintain at least 2 meters (6.5 feet) between each other. Work-related gatherings must be limited to no more than 25 people.

The public may attend outdoor sporting events at 25 percent of the venue's capacity. Meetings, congresses, conferences, expositions, and similar gatherings at event venues are permitted at 25 percent capacity.

Authorities could reimpose, extend, further tighten, or otherwise amend any restrictions with little-to-no notice depending on disease activity over the coming weeks. Highly targeted, localized measures could be enforced in provinces or local communities with higher disease activity.

Advice

Follow all official instructions. Abide by national health and safety measures. Reconfirm all travel arrangements and business appointments. Liaise with trusted contacts for further updates and guidance.