No menu items!

COSTA RICA'S LEADING ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER

HomeNewsCosta Rica'Worst nightmare': Costa Rica ICUs saturated with Covid patients

‘Worst nightmare’: Costa Rica ICUs saturated with Covid patients

Costa Rica’s public-hospital system says it can no longer offer all critical patients the attention they require due to a saturation of resources by Covid-19 cases.

Saturday evening, the Social Security System (Caja) said it has “exceeded the optimal institutional capacity” of intensive-care occupancy with 435 patients with Covid-19 requiring an ICU bed.

“This is like waking up to our worst nightmare,” said Mario Ruiz, medical manager of the Caja.

“Medical centers continue to receive patients who require hospital care and they can no longer be given optimal care for their serious condition because they cannot be assigned the right bed.”

The Caja says its maximum optimal ICU capacity for Covid-19 is 359 patients. Beyond that, the Caja is using temporary beds or converting spaces that would otherwise be reserved for individuals with other pathologies.

Despite this, on Saturday afternoon at least 12 patients who were severely or critically sick with Covid-19 had to wait hours to be admitted.

“It is never a good time to get sick, but right now is the worst,” said Román Macaya, Caja president.

As of Friday’s update, the latest available, there were 1,175 people hospitalized with Covid-19 across Costa Rica.

Popular Articles

Costa Rica’s Press Freedom Decline in 2025: What’s Happening?

Costa Rica has long been a beacon of democracy in Latin America, with a proud history of protecting press freedom. But the 2025 World...

Costa Rica Catholics Support Conclave Despite No Voting Cardinal

Black smoke rose from the Sistine Chapel’s chimney this evening, signaling that the 133 cardinals in the 2025 conclave have not yet elected a...

Tourism and Sport Fishing Ignored in Costa Rica’s Blue Economy Roadmap

Last Friday, April 25, the official presentation of the 2025–2030 National Fisheries and Aquaculture Development Plan took much of Costa Rica’s coastal fishing sector...
spot_img
Costa Rica Tours
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Travel Insurance
Costa Rica Rocking Chait

Latest Articles