Panama has enacted a strict coronavirus lockdown based on gender — with men and women only allowed in public on separate days.
“Starting April 1, women will circulate Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and men Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday,” President Laurentino “Nito” Cortizo announced on Twitter.
“On Sundays everyone should stay at home,” he said.
While it started Wednesday — April Fools’ Day — the decree was made two days earlier and is due to last at least 15 days.
Panamanian officials initially made a doomed attempt to keep everyone inside except for emergencies — with more than 2,000 people detained last week for flouting the orders, security minister Juan Pino said, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).
“The great quantity of people circulating outside their homes, despite the obligatory national quarantine, has led the national government to take more severe measures,” said a statement by the government.
Dividing them by gender is hoped to make it easier for authorities to limit how many people leave isolation each day, CNN said.
And even on their designated days, residents only have a two-hour window to carry out essential chores, the network said.
As of Wednesday, Panama has confirmed 1181 cases of the coronavirus with 30 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data.
