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Published Friday, March 5, 2021
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Health authorities confirmed the first case of covid-19 detected in Costa Rica on March 6, 2020. One year ago to the day, the country mourns 2,833 deaths due to virus.
The first person infected with covid-19 reported by authorities was a 49-year-old U.S. citizen. Both, her and her husband, arrived in Costa Rica a week before her diagnosis, at Juan Santamaría Airport in Alajuela Province.
The ministry confirmed the woman's husband was in contact with a covid-19 patient in New York before arriving in the country.
She entered the country on March 1 from New York. After several days in Costa Rica, she began showing symptoms.
The couple reported their symptoms to the U.S. Embassy. They were both classified suspicious after the medical test of another type of respiratory virus resulted negative.
But an additional diagnostic test made by the ministry confirmed the woman as the first "imported" covid-19 case in the country.
One day later, on March 7, 2020, her husband, 49, was the second confirmed "imported" covid-19 case in the country.
Both received medical treatment during the quarantine period in their hotel located in San José Province. After they completed the 14-day quarantine period, neither had symptoms of the virus. The couple was authorized to leave the country.
On March 18, 2020, the ministry reported the first death of a covid-19 patient, an 87-year-old Costa Rican man. He was hospitalized in the Intensive Care Unit at the San Rafael Public Hospital in Alajuela Province.
Since then, the virus has reached to all corners of the country, according to the most updated statistics provided by the ministry today:
• 149,812 doses of covid-19 vaccines have been applied. Reaching a national vaccination rate of 2.9 per 100 inhabitants.
• 347 new covid-19 cases are reported, bringing the total to 17,371current active cases.
• 25,500 foreign-born people have been infected as part of the 206,640 cases since March, approximately 12.34% of the total cases. Of these, authorities confirmed the death of 32 foreign-born patients. But since October, there is no updated information about foreign-born deaths due to covid-19.
• 244 patients are being treated in public hospitals, where 133 patients are in ICUs in delicate health conditions. And 111 patients are in recovery rooms. Many of the remaining infected patients are quarantined in their homes.
• 187,484 patients have fully recovered, an 90% recovery rate of the total cases since March.
• 700,259 covid-19 tests have been conducted in Costa Rica since March, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering of Johns Hopkins University in the U.S.
• 2,833 deaths are listed as covid-19 related, approximately 1.4% death rate.
Readers can see the current number of infected people in each district on the National Distance Education University on its Covid-19 Map.
According to Johns Hopkins University, the pandemic has killed more than 2.5 million people worldwide.
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Is the covid-19 death rate in your country less than the Costa Rican rate? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com
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