QCOSTARICA – The drop in infections and hospitalizations due to covid-19 that surprises scientists and health officials of the last few weeks resulted in the government being more flexible in the vehicular restrictions.
Starting Monday, February 8, the daytime vehicle restrictions for Monday to Friday will apply only for the central area of San José, as they did before the pandemic.
That means, that vehicles are restricted from circulating in San Jose center from 5:00 am to 10:00 pm based on the last digit of the license plate: Mondays 1 & 2, Tuesdays 3 & 4, Wednesdays 5 & 6, Thursdays 7 & 8. Fridays 9 & 0.
That means all vehicles can circulate across the country from Monday to Friday, from 5:00 am to 10:00 pm without any restrictions, save for the foregoing in San Jose.
The rest of the country will have free movement during the week, regardless of the license plate number, as it was before March 2020.
However, the night restriction is maintained for the entire country throughout the week for all vehicles from 10:00 pm to 5:00 am.
In addition, on weekends, the license plate number limitation will continue: on Saturdays, from 5:00 am and to 10:00 pm only plates ending in even numbers can circulate on Saturdays and plates ending in odd numbers can on Sundays. The weekend daytime plate restrictions are for the entire country.
To circulate in restricted hours or areas, the exemptions that have been in force such as work, emergencies, airport transfers, rental cars, tourism vehicles, among others, are maintained, mainly, to avoid crowds in public transport.
However, taking children to school is not an exemption.
According to Alexánder Solís, president of the Comisión Nacional de Emergencias (CNE), who made the announcement during the Friday afternoon press conference, the decision was due to the decrease in the number of infections registered in recent weeks, as well as a decrease in mortality and hospitalization related to the pandemic.
“These data suggest that we are gaining ground on the virus. It does not mean that there should be a relaxation of personal measures, of what we apply at home, work, compliance with protocols and the great effort that commerce, companies, institutions and families have developed to be able to win this space, “he said.
Since March, the country has registered 196,438 confirmed infections and 2,672 deaths related to covid-19, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Faced with a good outlook, Solís warned that any carelessness in the application of preventive measures could generate a new condition of greater risk.
He insisted on continuing to respect social bubbles, distancing, use of masks, hand washing, and sneeze and cough protocol.
Measures starting February 15
As of February 15, business events or academic halls may increase capacity to 300 people, instead of 150 as it is at this time; For the rest of the activities, the number of people allowed will increase to 75 from the 30 currently.
“Both measures must maintain the 1.8 meter separation of the seats, respecting social bubbles with a predefined list of attendees and complying with measures such as hand washing and use of masks,” added Solis.
Read more: Live music is back: these are the new rules
Meanwhile, the capacity in restaurants will remain the same as in commercial establishments.
