Costa Rica will end its weekend daytime driving restrictions starting in March.
President Carlos Alvarado announced the news Monday via social media:
“As of March 1, the vehicle restriction will be eliminated by distribution of even and odd plates during weekends throughout the country, and the vehicle restriction schedule from Monday to Sunday will be until 11:00 p.m,” he indicated.
Costa Rica’s driving restrictions for March will be as follows:
- At nighttime (11 p.m. to 5 a.m.): A nationwide nighttime restriction will continue to be enforced.
- Weekday restrictions will apply in downtown San José only. These have existed for several years as a method of reducing road congestion in the capital.
The typical list of exceptions — which includes rental vehicles, people driving to/from a hotel reservation, and people driving to/from the airport — will also continue to apply. The official list of exceptions can be found here.
Costa Rica first established national driving restrictions in April 2020 to reduce non-essential travel and the spread of the coronavirus.
“It is our collective responsibility to continue to abide by health protocols, since this flexibility in measures is linked to the decrease in cases and less pressure on the health system,” said President Alvarado. “If there were an increase in cases, it would be necessary to return to more restrictive measures to avoid saturation in hospitals.”
The official site for driving restrictions and other coronavirus measures in Costa Rica is: https://presidencia.go.cr/alertas.
