Early Transmission Dynamics, Spread, and Genomic Characterization of SARS-CoV-2 in Panama
Danilo Franco, Claudia González, Leyda Ábrego, Jean‐Paul Carrera, Yamilka Díaz, Yaset Caicedo, Ambar Moreno, Oris Chavarría, Jessica Góndola, Marlene Castillo, Elimelec Valdespino, Melissa Gaitán, José Martínez-Mandiche, Lizbeth Hayer, Pablo A. González, Carmen Lange, Yadira Moltó, Dalis Mojica, Rúben Ramos, Maria Mastelari, Lizbeth Cerezo, Lourdes Moreno, Christl A. Donnelly, Juan Miguel Pascale, Nuno R. Faria, Sandra López‐Vergès, Alexander A. Martínez
Abstract
C oronavirus disease (COVID-19), caused by se- vere acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), was first reported in December 2019 in Wuhan, China (1,2). Of 23 million confirmed cases worldwide, as of October 20, 2020, a total of 28% (>6 million) had been reported in Latin America. SARS-CoV-2 was first reported in this region in So Paulo, Brazil, on February 25, 2020 (3).