Costa Rica announced 10 new coronavirus-related deaths for a total of 453, according to official data released Wednesday afternoon by the Health Ministry.
Four-hundred and fifty-six people are hospitalized with COVID-19; 154 are in intensive care. Both are new highs.
The Health Ministry confirmed 1,121 new cases on Wednesday for a cumulative total of 43,305.
Of these new cases, 885 were identified via a PCR lab test, while the remaining 236 were confirmed via their epidemiological nexus.
Wednesday, 242 more people were classified as recovered.
Costa Rica has 26,340 known active cases and 16,512 recoveries. The data indicate Costa Rica has 8.86 COVID-19-related deaths per 100,000 people.
The deaths comprise 158 adults and 295 elderly adults; no children have died of COVID-19.
Below is Costa Rica’s test-positivity rate (the fraction of tests that come back positive) as of Saturday, August 29. We calculate this by dividing Costa Rica’s daily lab-confirmed positive cases by the total number of tests performed that day.
Costa Rica’s hospital capacity
Costa Rica can allocate up to 1,058 total intermediate-care beds and 287 intensive-care beds for COVID-19 patients at public hospitals across the country. Using this capacity impacts availability of other health services.
The 154 intensive-care patients reported Wednesday would correspond to 54% of the public-hospital capacity. (Note that some of these patients may be at private hospitals.)
To put the 10 new deaths in context: Costa Rica recorded 23 deaths attributed to respiratory viruses in all of 2018, according to Health Ministry data.
The below graphic will update automatically as the Health Ministry releases new coronavirus data.
If you believe you have COVID-19, contact Costa Rica’s hotline at 1322. English-speaking staff and mental health professionals are available.
