Published Thursday, May 14, 2020 

By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

Since the border closure order began on March 16, due to the covid-19 pandemic, 2,085 Costa Ricans have fled the countries where they lived to return to Costa Rica, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday.

According to the authorities, Ticos have arrived from 83 countries such as the United States, Canada, France, the Netherlands, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Venezuela, Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Italy, and the U.K. among others.

The most recent flight arrived on Tuesday from Madrid, Spain with 290 Costa Ricans who arrived from various European countries.

All passengers received a mandatory health order that requires them to be quarantined in isolation at their homes for 14 days, the ministry said. Those who dismiss the order will be fined ₡450,200 colones, the equivalent of $794.

Many of the Ticos were able to return thanks to the Air Bridge campaign, promoted by the Costa Rican North American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM) and the Business Development Alliance (AED), and the United States Embassy in Costa Rica, said Rodolfo Solano Quirós, Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Similarly, these flights were used for the return of foreigners who were in Costa Rica to their countries.

There were 4,917 foreigners who left the country for their homeland on 44 different flights. "These people remained in Costa Rica as tourists or were passing through," the ministry said in its statement. Also, foreigners in different parts of Central American countries arrived in Costa Rica to take the flight that would return them home.

However, the ministry announced that there are still 728 Costa Ricans who remain abroad in "remote territories where Costa Rica does not have diplomatic representation" so it has not been possible to repatriate these people.

The situation in Costa Rica is far more controlled and less extreme than other parts of the world, especially in Spain and New York. The Minister Solano reported that there are 82 Costa Rican patients infected with covid-19 while abroad.

Of these 65 were infected in the U.S., where 18 Costa Ricans have died from the disease in that country.

Authorities also reported the death of one Tico in Spain due to covid-19.

Costa Ricans arrive in their nation with few cases of covid-19 compared to other countries.


On Wednesday afternoon the Ministry of Health reported, 281 active patients in Costa Rica infected with the covid-19. Active patients are people who currently have the virus.

Authorities also announced at 5:20 p.m. the eighth death of a patient infected with covid-19.

According to the case summary, he was a 75-year-old Costa Rican man who was diagnosed with the virus on April 8, immediately hospitalized that same day. On April 14, he was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit, ICU, at the San Juan de Dios Hospital in San Jose Province.

He then recovered. But the virus had already weakened his health. He had hypertension and complications from an old heart surgery that was carried out 17 years ago, which couldn’t overcome the damages left by the virus.


The summary of the seven dead cases are as follow:

On May 10, it was reported the death of an 80-year-old foreigner who lived in Alajuela. He was diagnosed with the virus on May 9 and admitted into the ICU, at Enrique Baltodano Briceño Hospital in Liberia, Guanacaste Province.

On April 20, it was reported the death of a 54-year-old Cuban national and Costa Rican resident. He was diagnosed with the coronavirus on March 6. That same day he was admitted into ICU at México Hospital in San José Province. He was identified as a superspreader of the covid-19, linked to 81 people infected with covid-19.

On April 19, a 69-year-old Costa Rican who was diagnosed with the coronavirus on March 25 died. He was admitted into ICU at the San Juan de Dios Hospital in San José on March 28. 

On April 15, an 84-year-old Costa Rican man who had tested positive for covid-19 on April 1. He was admitted into ICU at the same hospital, San Juan de Dios, on April 5.

On April 8, the death of a 45-year-old Costa Rican was reported. He entered the country from the U.S. in March, where it is presumed he was infected. He was hospitalized for 10 days in the ICU of the same hospital, San Juan de Dios.

On March 20 the death of an 87-years-old patient was reported. He was hospitalized in the ICU at San Rafael Hospital in Alajuela Province.

A few days earlier, on March 18  was reported the first patient died in the country. By coincidence he was an 87-years-old man  hospitalized in the ICU at the same Alajuela Hospital.


Authorities provided the following statistics related to the development of the covid-19 in the country:

• Of the 815 infected since the first case was detected in March, 527 coronavirus patients have fully recovered.

• There was an overnight increase of 11 new patients infected with the covid-19. It was also reported 7 new patients fully recovered.

• The ages of those affected range from 1 to 87 with an average age of 37.

• 20 patients are being treated in public hospitals, where 14 are in recovery rooms and 6 have been reported in an Intensive Care Unit with delicate health conditions. Most of the infected patients are quarantined in their homes.

• 120 foreigners infected, of these 14 entered the country unauthorized and are jailed in the facilities of the Professional Migration Police in Heredia Province.

According to the authorities on Wednesday 19 foreigners working as truck drivers transporting merchandise were rejected to enter the country at the Peñas Blancas Border Post, on the Nicaraguan border, because they tested positive for covid-19.

• 11,764 people have been ruled out.

• 18,040 medical covid-19 tests have been made.


The updated number of total patients in each district can be reached at the National Distance Education University on its Covid-19 Map.

As of Monday night, the pandemic has killed 296,784 patients worldwide according to recent statistics reported by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.



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Have you heard of any foreigner who wants to return to Costa Rica because of the low number of people infected with the virus?    We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com