Costa Rica’s deadliest day: 32 new deaths related to Covid-19

The Health Ministry on Thursday evening reported 32 new deaths related to Covid-19 over the previous 24 hours, a new record in Costa Rica during the pandemic.

In total, Costa Rica has registered 3,514 deaths associated with the disease since the pandemic began here last March. Covid-19 was Costa Rica’s leading cause of death in 2020, the Health Ministry has said.

Meanwhile, the country continues setting new records in hospitalizations. On Thursday, there were 1,342 hospitalized patients, of whom 432 were in intensive care. Thirteen people are in a private ICU bed with the remaining 419 in public hospitals.

The public-hospital system says its maximum optimal capacity for Covid-19 intensive-care patients is 359; since Costa Rica has surpassed that figure, the Caja has had to sacrifice quality of care for patients with other emergencies.

Costa Rica on Thursday added 3,039 new coronavirus cases, the second-highest tally during the pandemic.