QCOSTARICA – COVID-19 is already the leading cause of death in Costa Rica. This was detailed this Tuesday in a press conference by the Minister of Health, Daniel Salas.
“COVID-19, compared to previous years as a single causal entity, became the leading cause of death in Costa Rica,” Salas said.
In years past, cardiovascular disease had led as the leading cause.
As of Tueday, there were 1,731 deaths related to the new coronavirus, of which 653 are women and 1,078 men, with an age range of 9 to 101 years.
By age there are 560 adults, 1,169 older adults and two minors.
Considerable hike
The numbers from the National Institute of Census and Statistics (INEC) also show this increase in deaths from COVID-19.
Of the 11,550 people who died in the country during the first half of 2020, only 16 of the cases were linked to the pandemic.
At that time, acute myocardial infarction led the cause of death with 573 deaths.
Data shows that between 2016-2018 a total of 4,745 people died from acute myocardial infarction, representing an annual average of 1,582.
That number was surpassed by Covidc-19 related deaths on November 18 – 1,588 – eight months since the first reported death on March 18.
