Increased Orange Alert in the northern zone due Covid-19 spike

Published Thursday, June 11, 2020

Increased Orange Alert in the
northern zone due Covid-19 spike

By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

Due to the increase in cases diagnosed with covid-19 in the northern zone of the country, the National Emergency Commission increased the Orange Alert areas until further notice.

As of Wednesday, the Paquera District, located in the Nicoya Peninsula, joins those areas of the country where they have identified an increased risk of the transmission of the virus.

With this new alert, the Cantons and Districts with restrictions on commercial activities and ban on driving are: Paquera, Guatuso, Guácimo, La Cruz, Los Chiles, Pococí, Río Cuarto, La Fortuna, Venice, Aguas Zarcas, Cutris, Pital, Pocosol, Plains of Gaspar, Curuña, Pacuarito, Reventazón, Upala, Peñas Blancas, Las Juntas, Cañas and Bebedero.

In these regions, the ban on driving applies every day, Monday to Sunday, from 5 p.m. to 5 a.m. of the next day, explained Alexander Solís, president of the Commission.

Businesses, in general, will be able to attend to the public every day, from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. The commerce restriction schedule does not apply in supermarkets, pharmacies, or so-called Pulperías, small grocery stores and health services related to business.

Restrictions also apply to river accessibility, from Monday to Sunday, from 5 p.m. to 5 a.m. of the next day. This law applies to the rivers of Medio Queso, Frío, Tortuguero, Colorado, Sarapiquí and San Carlos.

The aforementioned new restrictions do not apply to transport on inter-cantonal routes, such as:

• Route 1, known as Interamericana Norte, between San José and the northern zone.

• Route 6 between Cañas and Upala.

• Route 142 passes through the districts of Cañas, Tilarán and La Fortuna.

• Route 702 between San Ramón and La Fortuna.

• Route 18 between Abangares and Nicoya.

• Route 32, known as the Braulio Carrillo highway, between the provinces of San José and Limón.

Authorities expanded the restrictions due to the increase in new patients infected with covid-19.

The Health Ministry reported on Wednesday 727 active cases or those who currently have the virus, in the country.

Authorities provided the following statistics of the evolution of the virus in the country:

• Of the 1,461 infected since the first case was detected in March, 722 coronavirus patients have fully recovered. That is equal to 49% of total recovered patients.

• The ages of those infected ranges from a three-month-old baby to an 89-year-old, with an average age of 35.

• 20 patients are being treated in public hospitals, where 17 are in recovery rooms and 3 have been reported in an Intensive Care Unit, ICU, with delicate health conditions. Most of the infected patients are quarantined in their homes.

• 349 foreigners infected, of these, 47% entered the country unauthorized and are jailed in the facilities of the Professional Migration Police in Heredia Province.

• 20,971 people have been ruled out.

• 30,372 medical covid-19 tests have been made.

• 12 deaths have been reported from patients infected with covid-19 since March, three women and nine men.

The most recent death was reported by the ministry on Wednesday.

The patient was a 64-year-old Costa Rican woman, who lived in the province of San José. She had been hospitalized in the ICU of the Mexico Hospital for 70 days. The risk factors in the patient were her age, high blood pressure, diabetes and liver disease.

In March she arrived in the country from a trip abroad. On March 24, she was diagnosed positive for covid-19. On May 13 she had recovered from the virus, but the toll the virus took on her body became lethal.

On Monday night, the ministry reported another death related to the covid-19. In this case, an asymptomatic 26-year-old Costa Rican woman who lived in Alajuela Province. She was asthmatic, which was a risk factor and what eventually led to her losing battle to covid-19.

However, the virus was diagnosed post-mortem. According to the ministry report, she died at the Guatuso Clinic on May 30 at 10:36 a.m. She was taken by her family to the clinic due to vaginal bleeding.

As part of the protocols for the pandemic, the Judicial Investigation Organization requested the covid-19 test because pulmonary edema was detected due to the autopsy. The covid-19 post-mortem diagnosis was positive.

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 Wednesday night, the pandemic has killed 415,277 patients worldwide, according to recent statistics reported by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.

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What other measures should the government take to apply in the northern border as a preventative measure to stop the spread of covid-19? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com