How Costa Rica is Managing the Second Wave of Infections

Costa Rica is considered a model country in conduct against Covid-19, accounting for a little more than 1,340 confirmed cases, of which 10 people have died, and more than 700 people have already been cured.

“We are currently in the second pandemic wave that has different characteristics from the first,” said Health Minister Daniel Salas.

Salas indicated that the number of new infections in the last seven weeks rose from 38 (the lowest since the start of the pandemic) to 40, 47, 73, 65, 129 and 216.

The Minister of Health, Daniel Salas, stressed that the epidemiological surveillance work has allowed the identification of clusters of cases and the isolation of those infected, for which reason he insisted to the population on the need to support the creation of isolation centers in the communities affected.

Minister Salas explained that these centers, which are usually installed in hotels, have made it possible to contain infections in vulnerable communities due to their demographic density or where sick people do not have adequate conditions in their homes to spend a quarantine.

Costa Rica is going through the second pandemic wave and is maintaining an active program of reopening economic activities that began on May 16.

The third phase of this reopening plan is scheduled to start on June 20.

Minister Salas said that the plan is under constant analysis depending on the behavior of the virus and that in the next few days it will be announced if it continues or if adjustments will need to be made.

The United Nations (UN) will collaborate in health support for the containment of Covid-19 in the Northern Zone. There will be a cooperation plan that has several phases, which includes the supply of medical supplies and specialized personnel. The UN has already executed 200 million Settlers in certain areas.

It will also have the participation of the Pan American Health Organization, which will participate with medications and support personnel, in coordination with the National Emergency Commission.

Another phase will have the participation of other organizations such as Doctors without Borders or the Red Cross at the international level.

The importance of this is that in recent weeks the cases have exploded and also because of the risk of being close to Nicaragua, where there is a great circulation of the virus.

Every day, about 200 people, on average, are denied entry to the country on the northern border.

Since the restriction of entry of foreigners to Costa Rica was given, as a measure to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus Covid-19 by imported cases, some 14 thousand people have been rejected in this area.

Although it is ruled out that there is a massive wave, the truth is that some try to circumvent the controls in the north of the country to enter the Costa Rican territory irregularly.

And not only do they try, but they do it through blind spots.

The border cordon is made up of about 309 kilometers of border, in addition to the extension it has a great diversity of geography and temperatures, which complicates the operations carried out there by the Costa Rican authorities and makes it more difficult to avoid the income of people with irregular immigration status.

Furthermore, “intelligence actions” have determined that movement occurs primarily during the night.

The orange alert in northern Costa Rica

While the entire country remains on yellow alert since Sunday, March 8, on Wednesday, June 3rd, it rose to orange for some cantons and districts of the northern area, which are suspected of moving those who want to enter irregularly to the country.

An alert operation will be for two weeks and together with the police deployment, it will be complemented by day checkpoints and aerial surveillance by drones.

Some operating results

As of May 31st, the balance of some of the operations of the Ministry of Public Security that resulted:

Checks of buses in the Potrerillos post, canton of La Cruz, Guanacaste, 35 foreigners in irregular migration status were intercepted.

Several patrols through El Campo de Pocosol, canton of San Carlos, allowed to intercept seven foreigners with irregular migration status.

Through road controls in towns in the cantons of Los Chiles and San Carlos, such as Banderas, Cóbano, San Cristóbal, El Gavilán and El Cevichito, some 32 foreigners in irregular migration status were located.

In Banderas de Pocosol, a barracks was intervened and eight foreigners with irregular migration status were apprehended.

All of these people were left under the Migration order to be repatriated.

Why do people come from the northern border to Costa Rica?

The Pan American Health Organization says that the Coronavirus in Nicaragua is unsustainable and that it is in the stage of community transmission.

Furthermore, the official figures are far from those given by the NGO Citizen Observatory.

The Government reported on Friday, June 5, about 1,118 cases and about 46 deaths. While the NGO Citizen Observatory inflates these figures in at least 3,725 infections and 805 deaths (as of May 27).

On Monday, June 1st, some 34 medical associations in that country warned that the virus in Nicaragua is in a phase of accelerated expansion, so they called on citizens to quarantine voluntarily.

While the doctors make this call, the Government calls for marches, such as “Love in times of Covid-19” to confront the pandemic, or the most recent “For comrades fallen from atypical pneumonia”.

In addition to mismanagement of the Coronavirus situation in the neighboring country, its inhabitants flee to Costa Rica seeking sources of work and free medical treatment.

The number of cases that has grown in recent weeks has not only in common the cantons where the orange alert is declared, but they are related to agricultural, packaging and construction activities, said Daniel Salas, Minister of Health.

This suggests that there are companies that take advantage of the situation in the neighboring country and hire this labor force with irregular migratory status.

The state of Costa Rica announced that it will sanction companies that transfer these workers, taking away their operating permits and closing the activity.

“That is our main health risk at the moment and there has been management since before. We knew that it was a risk and that at some point it was going to materialize. All this deployment to the borders, to the health centers to manage this situation is more timely and complete, which of course is real and we have to face it” said Salas.

Carrier cases

Although the Ministry of Health requested controls from the carriers, these were removed to allow trade between the countries of the isthmus.

Initially, the drivers were evaluated and only those who tested negative were able to enter the country.

This caused many to be “stranded” on the border.

While in Costa Rica, Salas warned: “no commercial transaction is above a human life.”

After a pilot plan, an agreement was reached and they are now given GPS monitoring and tracking.

More support

It is about expanding support with international organizations, but this is a problem that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic is handling.