Published Thursday, May 28, 2020 

By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

In the last hours, more than 700 truck drivers have been registered at the country's main border ports of entry, such as Peñas Blancas and Tablillas Exit Post on the Nicaraguan border, in addition to Paso Canoas and Sixaola Exit Post on the border with Panama, confirmed the National Emergency Commission on Wednesday.

The truck drivers are at the borders waiting to continue with the transportation of goods throughout the rest of Central America.

In the case of the border with Panama, an agreement between both countries was signed on Tuesday to carry out the due process of transporting merchandise through the country.

As for the Nicaraguan border, the truck drivers continue to wait for the authorities of that country to allow them to enter.

According to the authorities, a series of actions have been carried out to satisfy the basic needs of truck drivers located within the country in the border areas, among these are.

• Installation of 74 portable restrooms, sinks, showers and trash cans.

• Medical reviews have been carried out, and medicines have been delivered by doctors hired by the Commission.

• At the Peñas Blancas border port of entry with Panama, there are 25 volunteers from the Commission and the Red Cross who attend to 520 truck drivers.

• Food, hygiene and protection items, as well as a supply of drinking water has been delivered.

• More than 3,200 kilograms of cleaning supplies and protective equipment have been distributed among the four border entry ports. Among the medical supplies that have been delivered are: gowns, gloves, masks, disposable face shields. In addition to liquid hand soap, disinfectant, bleach, alcohol, paper towels, toilet paper, and thermometers, the Commission said in its statement.

Medical and health assistance to truck drivers has been made in coordination with members of the Municipal Emergency Committees, said Alexander Solís, president of the National Emergency Commission.

According to the authorities, basic needs have also been addressed to the immigrant population in border areas from Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala and Panama.

The recent attention to address the basic needs of truck drivers and immigrants developed as a safety measure at the borders to avoid contagion by covid-19.

So far Costa Rica leads the region with an immediate and safe response to covid-19.


This week the transportation of merchandise that enters through the southern border with Panama was reactivated, confirmed the Ministry of Foreign Trade.

For nearly a week, truck drivers on the southern border kept the passage blocked at the Paso Canoas Border Port of entry due to the lack of clarity in the agreements between Costa Rica and Panama, their truck driver leader said.

On Tuesday, the Panamanian authorities issued decrees and regulations to establish the plan agreed with Costa Rica for a controlled route.

Authorities from Costa Rica and Panama reached an agreement to authorize the entry of containers as long as sanitary guidelines are maintained, announced the Ministry.

According to the Ministry, the same proposal was presented to the Central American authorities to reduce protesting by truck drivers at both the Nicaragua and Panama border ports of entry.

"For the protection of health in Costa Rica, we have proposed to the governments of the region a new strategy for the management of merchandise container carriers, through a system that would allow us to protect their movements and transfers, to avoid possible covid-19 infections," said Daniel Salas, Minister of Health. "We call for regional solidarity because we are facing an atypical situation, which requires innovative solutions.”

On Wednesday, authorities confirmed 46 foreigners working as truck drivers transporting merchandise were rejected to enter the country because they tested positive for covid-19.

According to the ministry’s plan, the country will allow foreign carriers to enter through the border ports with the following conditions: trailers must enter a fiscal warehouse area where the merchandise will be transferred to Costa Ricans truck drivers. Then, the container will be carried through a controlled route and escorted with police to the next border post. Once there the container will be transferred to another trailer to continue to its final destination.

"It was urgent to find a balanced solution because without trade, there is no health and without health, there is no trade," said Dyalá Jiménez, Minister of Foreign Trade.

Costa Rica - Panama agreement will continue to be adjusted depending on the regulations of the Ministry of Health, said the Costa Rican authorities.


Regarding the development of covid-19 in the country, the health ministry reported on Wednesday 335 active cases. Active patients are those who currently have the virus.

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

• Of the 984 infected since the first case was detected in March, 639 coronavirus patients have fully recovered.

• The ages of those affected range from six months to 87 with an average age of 37. On May 14, a 6-months-old baby tested positive with the virus.

• 12 patients are being treated in public hospitals, where 10 are in recovery rooms and 2 have been reported in an Intensive Care Unit, ICU, with delicate health conditions. Most of the infected patients are quarantined in their homes.

• 180 foreigners infected, of these 27 entered the country unauthorized and are jailed in the facilities of the Professional Migration Police in Heredia Province.

• 46 foreigners working as truck drivers transporting merchandise were denied border entry because they tested positive for covid-19.

• 16,368 people have been ruled out.

• 24,338 medical covid-19 tests have been made.

• 10 deaths have been reported from patients infected with covid-19 since March.

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 355,629 patients worldwide according to recent statistics reported by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.



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Should the government request the Organization of Central American States to allow truck drivers to continue transporting goods through Nicaragua?  We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com