Costa Rica confirmed 190 new cases of the coronavirus over the past day, totaling 3,459 cumulative known cases, the Health Ministry announced Tuesday afternoon.
The 190 new cases are the largest day-over-day increase announced by Costa Rica during the pandemic. Forty-four people are currently hospitalized with COVID-19, also a new high.
Forty-two more people have been classified as recovered under Costa Rica’s definitions that qualify certain patients based on time rather than a negative test.
Costa Rica has 2,007 active cases and 1,436 recoveries.
Sixteen people have died in Costa Rica after contracting the coronavirus, including one death earlier Tuesday. The data mean Costa Rica has 3.13 coronavirus deaths per 1,000,000 people.
Five people are currently in intensive care.
The Health Ministry has indicated its models show the country’s intensive-care capacity could reach saturation points if new cases remain elevated over several weeks.
Costa Rica announces 16th death
An 89-year-old Costa Rican woman became the country’s 16th COVID-19-related death on Tuesday morning.
The San José resident tested positive on June 22 and had been hospitalized at the country’s coronavirus-specific hospital since June 25.
In addition to her age, the woman had hypertension and diabetes, according to the Health Ministry.
Active coronavirus cases in Costa Rica
During its Tuesday press conference, the Health Ministry did not provide detailed information on the locations of the new positive cases or the amount of tests processed.
The recent spike in cases corresponds with both a general increase in testing and with a higher test-positivity rate, according to the CCSS.
Approximately 4% of mass sentinel tests in the San José district of Pavas returned positive, according to the Health Ministry.
The below graphic will update automatically with that information when the Health Ministry releases its full report later this afternoon.
