Costa Rica coronavirus updates for Friday, December 4

Costa Rica suffered 42 new coronavirus-related deaths between Wednesday and Friday for a total of 1,773, according to official data released Friday afternoon by the Health Ministry.

Five-hundred and seventy-seven people are currently hospitalized with COVID-19, an increase of six people since Tuesday.

The 213 patients in the ICU represents 59% of Costa Rica’s total capacity.

The Health Ministry has confirmed 143,685 total cases, including 1,168 on Wednesday, 1,165 on Thursday and 1,189 on Friday. At least 95,789 people have been cleared as recovered, though this number lags behind the actual figure.

The data indicate Costa Rica has 34.8 COVID-19-related deaths per 100,000 people. COVID-19 will be Costa Rica’s leading cause of death in 2020.

Costa Rica’s outbreak in context

Costa Rica has the 61st-most new cases per 100,000 residents over the past seven days, according to data compiled by The New York Times. At 19.3 new cases per 100,000 people, this significantly trails the United States (54.3) but is higher than Canada (16.6).

New case totals correlate with testing capacity; Costa Rica’s high test-positivity rate suggests it’s catching fewer minor or asymptomatic cases.

About 1.2% of people who tested positive for the coronavirus in Costa Rica have died. The average age of Costa Rica’s coronavirus-related deaths is 70 years.

COVID-19 will be Costa Rica’s leading cause of death in 2020, surpassing acute myocardial infarctions (heart attacks), which killed 1,322 people last year.

An analysis more than 200 COVID-19-related deaths in Costa Rica, released in October, confirmed 90% of them were caused by the virus or an associated complication, while 9% had died of unrelated causes. This case-by-case analysis is ongoing.

Costa Rica has up to 359 intensive-care beds and 986 beds for less-complex coronavirus hospitalizations.

The below graphic will update automatically as the Health Ministry releases new coronavirus data. Remember, coronavirus updates now happen twice a week, but this graph updates daily:

If you believe you have COVID-19, contact Costa Rica’s hotline at 1322. English-speaking staff and mental health professionals are available. Visit the Costa Rican Presidency for the official list of coronavirus measures and alerts.