Costa Rica coronavirus updates for Wednesday, July 22

Costa Rica confirmed 550 new cases of the coronavirus over the past day, totaling 12,361 cumulative known cases, the Health Ministry announced Wednesday afternoon.

Two-hundred and eighty-five people are hospitalized with COVID-19 with 50 in intensive care, both new highs.

One-hundred and twenty-eight 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 8,968 known active cases and 3,322 recoveries.

The Health Ministry has announced 71 coronavirus-related deaths, including three since Tuesday afternoon. The data indicate Costa Rica has 1.39 COVID-19-related deaths per 100,000 people.

Costa Rica coronavirus hospitalizations and deaths on July 22, 2020. Tico Times graph.

Most hospitalized patients have at least one risk factor, with hypertension, diabetes, obesity and smoking being the most common.

Eighty-five coronavirus patients are at the coronavirus hospital (CEACO), which has been expanded thanks to a partnership with the adjacent National Trauma Hospital.

As of Tuesday, the intensive-care units at Calderón Guardia and San Juan de Dios Hospitals had the most coronavirus patients (22 and 15 patients, respectively).

Airport reopening details announced tomorrow

Costa Rica on Thursday will announce details of its planned August airport reopening, Health Minister Daniel Salas said.

The news conference will be streamed live by the Health Ministry on Facebook; The Tico Times will publish a full English-language summary moments when details are revealed.

U.S. donates more equipment

Román Macaya, the executive president of the Costa Rica Social Security System (CCSS), thanked the United States for a donation of some $60,000 in medical supplies.

Among the donated items were 107,000 surgical masks that will be used by medical workers on the front lines of the fight against the pandemic, Macaya said.

The gift is one of many from the North American government; a June statement from the U.S. Embassy estimates pandemic-related donations have surpassed $235,000.

Active coronavirus cases in Costa Rica

The recent spike in cases corresponds with both an increase in testing and with a higher test-positivity rate, as shown in the below graph:

Costa Rica coronavirus test-positivity through Sunday, July 19. Tico Times graph.

The Greater Metropolitan Area is the country’s current epicenter. Much of Costa Rica is under an Orange Alert; click here for details regarding current business and driving restrictions.

Costa Rica has processed 71,150 tests as of Tuesday (13.9 tests per 1,000 people).

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 below graphic will update automatically when the Health Ministry releases that information later this afternoon.