Costa Rica studies international response to Nicaraguan coronavirus inaction

Costa Rica is studying international actions to monitor Nicaragua’s response to the novel coronavirus, as the government has not ordered measures of social isolation and has held mass protests and parties, Costa Rican authorities reported Sunday.

The populations of the two countries maintain a close relationship, with between 400,000 and 500,000 Nicaraguans living in Costa Rica who regularly pass from one country to another.

Nicaragua is the only Central American country that has not ordered social isolation measures or closed borders to prevent the entry of people from abroad.

“That is an issue that is being valued at the government level. The Foreign Ministry is working in that direction,” Rodrigo Marín, director of the Costa Rican Health Surveillance, told reporters when asked if the country would ask the WHO to supervise Nicaragua’s actions.

Marín noted that the two countries have held bilateral meetings with health authorities to discuss actions to stop the spread of COVID-19, but admitted that “much more is missing.”

“It is true that the figures for Nicaragua at this time are not in line with what is observed worldwide,” Marín said.

Nicaragua registers six confirmed cases of the coronavirus, including one deceased, figures that are far from those of the rest of Central America.

In Costa Rica, 454 cases of COVID-19 and two deaths have been confirmed.

And while other Central American countries tightened restrictions on the mobility of people before the Easter holiday, Nicaragua announced festive activities throughout the country.

“It is a weekend loaded with much joy, with a lot of celebration that we are going to have at the national level, with a lot of dynamics in each of the municipalities,” said Félix Sánchez, head of National Promotion of the Nicaraguan Institute of Tourism, as quoted by the official news portal 19 Digital.

Costa Rica keeps its borders closed and tightened surveillance in the northern zone to prevent the mobilization of people.