QCOSTARICA – Starting Monday, October 26, tourists, residents and nationals arriving by air in Costa Rica no longer require a negative RT-PCR test.
Neither will a sanitary order (quarantine) order be issued.
“This decision is made in view of the air opening to all the countries of the world on November 1 and takes into account that the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) in a document dated October 9, considers it unnecessary to require tests or order quarantines for the resumption of international travel,” said the Minister of Tourism, Gustavo Segura.
“This measure depends on the evolution of the pandemic in the national territory and in the world,” added the Minister.
In addition to the migratory visa requirements for each country, the requirements within the framework of the pandemic that remain in force for tourists are:
- Complete the epidemiological digital form called the Health Pass
- The acquisition of travel medical insurance from either a national insurer carrier – INS or Sagicor – or a foreign policy that covers COVID-19 medical expenses and extended lodging.
“I reiterate my call to companies in the tourism sector to continue with the commitment to apply prevention protocols in a very comprehensive manner and to national and international tourists to do tourism responsibly, following all the precautionary measures that have been recommended for avoiding contagion. The observance and impeccable adoption of protocols are critical to giving continuity over time to these gradual measures of economic opening, which undoubtedly help to protect thousands of jobs in the tourism sector throughout the country,” added the Minister.
In the last two months, the ICT has inspected 150 companies to ensure compliance with health protocols, and 133 have requested the ICT for the Safe Travels seal granted by the World Travel and Tourism Council to the country.
Travelers with symptoms such as fever, dry cough, sore throat, tiredness, flu or similar are asked to postpone their trip to Costa Rica until they are in perfect health.
The opening of the air border is of vital importance for the reactivation of employment through the tourism industry, which in turn is one of the main engines of the national economy, responsible for almost 10 points of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and more than 600,000 direct and indirect jobs.
The reactivation of the tourist industry also entails the generation of foreign currency that is of crucial importance for the stability of the exchange rate of the dollar against the colon.
Currently, Costa Rica has authorized travel from more than 40 countries and residents of 24 U.S. states; U.S. residents must show proof of residency in an authorized state, ie by way of a driver’s license or State ID, which will be eliminated on November 1 when Costa Rica opens its air border to all countries..
As of today, Thursday, October 22, 2020, Costa Rica has accumulated 100,616 confirmed cases of the coronavirus since the first case on March 6, of which 61,162 or 60.8% have recovered.
The country has also recorded a total of 1,251 deaths (1.2%), of which 774 are men and 477 women, the youngest being 9 years old and the oldest 100.
