The number of patients confirmed with coronavirus covid-19 in Costa Rica increased this Sunday to 35, according to the most recent report from the Ministry of Health.
Salud reported the affected are 16 men and 19 women, between 10 and 87 years of age; 28 of which are adults, 4 minors and 3 seniors; Four are hospitalized, three of them in intensive care; and 450 suspected cases of have been ruled out.
Positive cases are registered in San José, Heredia, Alajuela, Guanacaste and Cartago.
Five of the sick are foreigners, the rest are Costa Ricans.
The number of confirmed cases increased by eight cases compared to the cut of the same time on Saturday when 27 patients had been confirmed.
According to Román Macaya, executive president of the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social (CCSS), of the new cases, half are Costa Ricans who returned from trips to the United States.
“Where are we going to be in a week? On March 6 we announced the first case. Today, on the 9th, there are 35 ”, Macaya highlighted in a new attempt to reiterate to the population about the importance of stopping the virus from spreading.
Macaya reiterated the call of the health authorities of social distancing – people to distance themselves as much as possible from others to avoid infections.
Annoyed Minister of Health: “There is a population that continues as if this were not real”
Health Minister, Daniel Salas, was emphatic on the need for the entire population to abide by the protection measures that Health authorities have issued, so that the number of infections and seriously ill people is reduced to the maximum.
Of the 35 patients, added the hierarch of the Fund, four are hospitalized, three of them in intensive care.
“We have said it: most people are not going to get seriously ill, but there are going to be people who are and there are going to be people who are going to die. This is not playing, we have to take it seriously,” exhorted Salas during the press conference.
“I insist: I know that something so simple sounds, that possibly people say it is not important, but touching your face without washing your hands in a public place is a huge risk. (Not touching your face without washing your hands before) can save lives.
“I see a population that is paying attention, but there are others that continue as if this were not something real … We have to do everything possible as a society, this we cannot face it if only one sector of society does it. I continue to make that vehement call. People made fun of the greetings, but that can save several lives,” stressed the minister.
Salas showed irritation at the reports of beaches full of people, that many, with the announcement of 350 schools closed, are going on vacation instead of staying home, avoiding crowds.
President Carlos Alvarado on Saturday made a call for people to “stay home” and go out on if necessary.
Salas also urged not to travel that if not strictly necessary.
“If you have to leave the country for an extremely important matter, do it, but this is not the time to be traveling. We have the virus within the country, but there are places much more affected than Costa Rica and we engage in that collaboration because we continue to see that behavior as if this were not happening,” said the Minister.
To date, worldwide more than 156,000 people have become ill, although almost 80,000 have already recovered.
Covid-19, which is transmitted by droplets of saliva that are expelled when people cough or sneeze without complying with basic protection measures to avoid spreading the virus, has killed more than 5,800 people, most of them in China.
