Costa Rica confirmed 350 new cases of the coronavirus over the past day, totaling 5,836 cumulative known cases, the Health Ministry announced Wednesday afternoon.
One-hundred and thirteen people are hospitalized with COVID-19, a new high.
One-hundred and nineteen 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 3,883 active cases and 1,929 recoveries.
Twenty-four people have died in Costa Rica after contracting the coronavirus, including one death Wednesday. Eleven people are currently in intensive care.
The data mean Costa Rica has 0.47 COVID-19-related deaths per 100,000 people.
The Health Ministry says its models show the country’s intensive-care capacity could reach saturation points if new cases remain elevated over several weeks.
Costa Rica’s public-health system has 24 coronavirus-specific intensive-care beds and is preparing an additional 32 beds for those patients. In total, 135 ICU beds could be occupied by COVID-19 patients, though doing so would limit the country’s ability to respond to other emergencies.
Nearly all hospitalized patients have at least one risk factor, with hypertension, diabetes, obesity and smoking being the most common.
Active coronavirus cases in Costa Rica
During its Wednesday press conference, the Health Ministry did not provide full detailed information on the locations of the new positive cases or the amount of tests processed.
The cantons with most new cases over recent days are: San José, Desamparados, Alajuelita, Alajuela, Heredia, Tibás and Goicoechea.
The Costa Rican Social Security System (CCSS) is conducting mass testing on asymptomatic residents of Alajuelita canton.
The recent spike in cases corresponds with both an increase in testing and with a higher test-positivity rate. From June 27 through July 6, Costa Rica averaged 968 tests and 241 new known cases daily.
The Health Ministry considers the Greater Metropolitan Area (GAM) as the country’s current epicenter and believes there is community transmission in that region. Much of the GAM is under an orange alert.
The below graphic will update automatically when the Health Ministry releases its full report later this afternoon.
