Costa Rica gov. continues debating pandemic response

The Costa Rican government is meeting on Monday with various sectors to discuss its response to saturated hospitals and the coronavirus pandemic.

The reunions come in context of Costa Rica’s public-health system saying it can no longer provide timely or quality care to all individuals due to the number of Covid-19 patients in the ICU.

Also on Monday, business restrictions in the Central Valley ended, leaving the country with few measures as it faces its most critical moments during the pandemic.

“The Government of the Republic will hold a follow-up meeting with different sectors Monday morning, as part of the joint work process to develop actions to slow down the speed of the spread of the virus and alleviate the hospital saturation caused by Covid-19,” the Presidency reported.

The Social Security System (Caja) says that it never before has had more than 1,000 patients hospitalized at the same time with the same diagnosis.

The government hopes to balance health with economic activity in a country where unemployment remains high.

Meetings will include the Presidency, health authorities, and leaders of the economic and social sectors.

Also invited are representatives from the culture, business, tourism and sports sectors, in addition to the Episcopal Conference and the Evangelical Alliance.

New measures would be announced via a press conference hosted by the Presidency.