Costa Rica coronavirus updates for Friday, September 4

Costa Rica announced nine new coronavirus-related deaths for a total of 469, according to official data released Friday afternoon by the Health Ministry.

Four-hundred and sixty-nine people are hospitalized with COVID-19; 212 are in intensive care. Both are new highs, though the sharp increase in intensive-care patients is due to a reclassification of 72 beds at the coronavirus hospital (CEACO).

The Health Ministry confirmed 1,222 new cases on Friday for a cumulative total of 45,680. This figure also represents a new high.

Of these new cases, 998 were identified via a PCR lab test, while the remaining 224 were confirmed via their epidemiological nexus.

Friday, 198 more people were classified as recovered.

Costa Rica has 27,158 known active cases and 18,053 recoveries. The data indicate Costa Rica has 9.18 COVID-19-related deaths per 100,000 people.

Despite the increase in cases, Costa Rica is continuing its “controlled reopening.” Most economic activity is allowed, and tourists from certain countries — including several U.S. states — can enter.

The Health Ministry told Teletica it’s analyzing COVID-19-related deaths to confirm how many were caused by the disease or related complications. A small subset of reported deaths correspond to post-mortem tests, even if the coronavirus ultimately did not contribute to the person’s death, the Health Ministry said.

The deaths comprise 163 adults and 306 elderly adults; no children have died of COVID-19 in Costa Rica.

Costa Rica coronavirus cases on September 4, 2020. Tico Times graph.

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.

We will update this graph weekly.