Costa Rica confirms four new coronavirus cases

The Health Ministry on Saturday night confirmed four new cases of the novel coronavirus in Costa Rica.

The country now has five confirmed cases of the new coronavirus, which has been named a global health emergency by the World Health Organization (WHO). The five cases are as follows:

• A 49-year-old U.S. tourist, who was Costa Rica’s first confirmed case as reported Friday. Her husband, also 49 and a U.S. citizen, has also tested positive, though he is asymptomatic.
• A 54-year-old Costa Rican man who remains in intensive care at a Costa Rican public hospital. The man has preexisting health conditions, complicating his case.
• A 73-year-old woman who is the aunt of the hospitalized Costa Rican man.
• A 41-year-old Costa Rican woman who was a caretaker for the hospitalized man.

The U.S. tourists remain isolated and under medical supervision at a San José-area hotel. The Costa Ricans are all being treated at public hospitals.

Except for the 54-year-old man — who is diabetic and also developed pneumonia — all are in stable condition, according to the Health Ministry.

Seven additional people were identified as suspected coronavirus cases Saturday and are being isolated while the national reference lab completes tests for COVID-19.

Across the world, there have been almost 105,000 cases recorded in 95 countries and territories with 3,556 deaths, according to AFP’s latest toll based on official sources at 1700 GMT Saturday.

The main countries affected are mainland China (80,651 cases, 3,070 deaths), South Korea (6,767 cases, 44 deaths), Italy (5,883 cases, 233 deaths), Iran, (5,823 cases, 145 deaths), France (949 cases, 16 deaths) and Germany (785 cases, no deaths).

Colombia, Costa Rica, Maldives and Malta all recently announced their first cases.

Information from AFP was used in this report.