Published Friday, May 14, 2020 

By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

Starting Monday at 5 a.m. the more popular national parks and wild reserves will open their doors to tourists, announced the Ministry of the Environment on Thursday.

The wild protected zones are opening to visitors "as part of the effort made to boost economic recovery," said the ministry in its statement.

However, precautionary guidelines have been established following the Ministry of Health orders, such as a social distance of 2 meters between people, strict hygiene measures, and only allowing entry at half capacity.

Certain national parks will open, but with special hours from 5 a.m. until 8 a.m. from Monday to Friday. The following national parks will allow visitors:

Irazú Volcano, Poás Volcano, Arenal Volcano, Rincón de la Vieja Volcano, Guayabo National Monument, Braulio Carrillo National Park,  Carara National Park, Corcovado National Park,  Manuel Antonio Beach National Park, Cahuita National Park, Tapantí National Park, Los Quetzales National Park and Hermosa- Punta Mala National Wildlife Refuge.

Due to the guidelines ordered by the authorities, people who wish to visit these protected areas must meet the following requirements:

• Show no symptoms of ill-health or be sick.

• No diseases, or high-health risks such as high blood pressure, diabetes, lung diseases, heart diseases, diseases of the circulatory system, cancer.

• Under the age of 65.

• Visitors will be allowed to enter alone or with family and close friends, as the so-called social bubbles. A social bubble is defined as a group of people with whom they have close physical contact.

• Visitors should also take all the recommended hygiene measures such as hand washing and wearing a face mask.

• During walks, a minimum distance of 2 meters should be maintained between people.

• In parks that have access to the ocean, such as Manuel Antonio Beach, visitors will not be allowed to be on the beach. No sun-bathing, no picnics, no naps, no camping.

• As reopening national parks is in its initial phase, picnic areas and restaurants have not yet been set up so visitors can not enter with food.

• Also, in the parking areas, only half the capacity of cars can be parked. Visitors must still respect the ban on driving plate numbers.

Pre-purchased tickets are mandatory. They can only be bought on the website of the National System of National Parks, knows as SINAC. The park ticket box offices at the park entrances continue to be closed.

The authorities continue to closely observe the evolution of the covid-19 in the country, so keeping the natural parks and wilderness areas open will depend on the orders by the Ministry of Health.


On Wednesday afternoon the Ministry of Health reported 10 more covid-19 infected patients in Costa Rica, reaching 287 active cases. Active patients are people who currently have the virus.

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

• Of the 830 infected since the first case was detected in March, 535 coronavirus patients have fully recovered.

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

• 17 patients are being treated in public hospitals, where 13 are in recovery rooms and 4 have been reported in an Intensive Care Unit with delicate health conditions. Most of the infected patients are quarantined in their homes.

• 128 foreigners infected, of these 26 entered the country unauthorized and are jailed in the facilities of the Professional Migration Police in Heredia Province.

According to the authorities on Thursday, 23 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.

• 12,064 people have been ruled out.

• 18,338 medical covid-19 tests have been made.

• Eight deaths have been reported from patients infected with covid-19.

The summary of the cases are as follows:

On May 13, authorities reported the death of a 75-year-old Costa Rican man who was diagnosed with the virus on April 8. On April 14, he was transferred to San Juan de Dios Hospital in San José 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.

On May 10, authorities reported the death of an 80-year-old foreigner who was diagnosed with the virus on May 9 and admitted to Enrique Baltodano Hospital  in Liberia, Guanacaste Province.

On April 20, authorities reported the death of a 54-year-old Cuban national and Costa Rican resident. He was diagnosed with the coronavirus on March 6 and admitted 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, authorities reported the death of a 69-year-old Costa Rican who was diagnosed with the coronavirus on March 25 and admitted at the San Juan de Dios Hospital in San José.

On April 15, authorities reported the death of an 84-year-old Costa Rican man who had tested positive for covid-19 on April 1. He was admitted to San Juan de Dios Hospital on April 5.

On April 8, authorities reported the death of a 45-year-old Costa Rican who entered the country from the U.S. in March, where it is presumed he was infected. He was hospitalized at the San Juan de Dios Hospital.

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

A few days earlier, authorities reported on March 18 the first covid-19 affiliated death in the country. By coincidence, he was an 87-years-old man hospitalized in the same Alajuela Hospital.

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 304,191 patients worldwide according to recent statistics reported by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.


-------------------------
Should authorities allow access to national parks for longer hours?   We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com