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Published Tuesday, April 28,
2020
Court
orders to restore potable water services
while the country could reach 700
covid-19 cases todayBy the A.M. Costa Rica staff The court, known as the Constitutional Chamber, ordered the government, through the Institute of Aqueducts, to restore drinking water services in the communities where this public service was suspended for a period not exceeding one month. The court order comes after a claim was accepted of an elderly woman from the Hatillo-2 District of San José Province. According to the claim, the woman alleged that she had received drinking water services for less than two hours a day and at the time the claim was filed, she had more than 40 consecutive hours without receiving the vital liquid. The court immediately orders the institute "to make what is necessary within the scope of its powers so, in the event of prolonged interruptions in the water service, taking into account the covid-19 pandemic, the affected population is guaranteed sufficient supply of this liquid so that it can supply their basic needs and implement the hygiene recommendations that the Health authorities have issued." Representatives of the court, in an investigation made in the community of Hatillo-2, verified that on March 9, water service was provided from 4:15 p.m. to 6 p.m. The next day the drinking water service was not restored. "This situation, of which damage is notoriously aggravated by the covid-19 pandemic, requires the intervention of this court because despite the fact that the shortage of problems in the country have been reflected since 2017, AyA has lagged behind infrastructure investment, as well as an important waste of water, for example, leaks," said the court in its statement. In addition, the order pointed out that the distribution of water by means of tanks has been insufficient, and, in the middle of this pandemic, the supply of drinking water is essential to prevent the spread of the virus and protect the health of the inhabitants. People in communities affected by constant cuts in drinking water service are at a disadvantage for following the Ministry of Health recommendations to be constantly washing hands and following clean habits. The virus continues infecting people in the country, but with fewer new cases per day than last month.  On Monday, the Ministry of Health confirmed an increase of 2 new patients infected with the virus, increasing the total to 697 cases. It is expected the country reaches 700 of covid-19 infected patients today. Authorities provided the following statistics: - The patients' ages range from 1 to 87 with an average age of 37. Of those, 35 are children under the age of 13, 626 are between 18 and 70 years old, and 36 are elder patients over the age of 70. - 16 are being treated in public hospitals, where 8 of them have been reported in intensive care with delicate health conditions. The rest of the infected patients are quarantined in their homes. - Of those infected, 334 are women (48%) and 363 are men (52%). -133 patients are employees of Social Security. - 69 foreigners infected. - 287 coronavirus patients have fully recovered, of these 141 women and 146 men. - 8,305 people have been ruled out since the virus was first reported in the country in March. - Six deaths reported from patients infected with covid-19. On April 20, a 54-year-old Cuban man who was diagnosed with the coronavirus on March 6 died. According to the authorities, he was linked to 81 people infected with covid-19. On April 19, a 69-year-old Costa Rican diagnosed with the coronavirus on March 25 died. On April 15, an 84-year-old Costa Rican man who had tested positive for covid-19 on April 1 was reported dead. On April 8, a 45-year-old Costa Rican died after being hospitalized for 10 days in intensive care at the San Juan de Dios Hospital. The first two patients died in March. They were hospitalized in intensive care at San Rafael Hospital in Alajuela Province, both 87-years-old. The UNED University provides a daily updated number of patients infected in each district throughout the country at its Covid-19 Map. As of Monday night, the pandemic has killed 212,522 patients worldwide according to recent statistics reported by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University. ------------------------ Have you heard of drinking water services being cut in your community? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com |
