QCOSTARICA – The daytime sanitary vehicle restriction will be suspended on weekends starting this Saturday.
vehiThrough a video, President, Carlos Alvarado, announced that from this weekend all vehicles will be able to circulate freely during the day and much of the night.
The restriction was also extended on weekends to 9:00 pm, that is there is no restriction from 5:00 am to 9:00 pm.
The daytime weekday restrictions continue unchanged from 5:00 am to 10:00 pm, the restriction is based on the last digit of the license plate: 1 & 2 on Mondays, 3 & 4 on Tuesday, 5 & 6 on Wednesdays, 7 & 8 on Thursdays and 9 & 0 on Fridays.
From the beginning of April until October 11, on weekends, only vehicles with license plates ending in odd numbers could circulate on Saturday and evens on Sunday, from 5:00 am to 7:00 pm at first, then extended to 8:00 pm.
Exemptions continue
During this month, the exceptions to move to and from work during the night restrictions, continue to apply.
To be exempt, a letter is required from the employer. The specific rules for exemptions can be found here.
The format of the letter can be downloaded here.
In addition, other exceptions apply, such as transfer to and from hotels or vacation spots, also with the respective proof, ie reservations and as well as productive activities, going to medical appointments or in emergency cases, among others.
The fine for violating this measure remains at ¢107,000 (plus costs). And since the beginning of October the seizure of license plates or vehicle for violating the vehicular restrctions was eliminated.
On Wednesday at a press conference, Health Minister Daniel Salas defended the measure and said that it has been positive as shown by measurements on the incidence to prevent the spread of the virus.
“It is a complement to protocols, health orders … everything adds up so that there is a lower rate of infection; If we had removed the restriction months ago, we would have a much higher infection,” he said.
This Thursday, the President also took the opportunity to inform that that his administration presented a proposal to reduce the cost of the label by 50% for vehicles whose value is less than ¢4.2 million, which, he said, represent 80% of the country’s vehicle fleet.
It is doubtfull that the majority of the vehicles in the country have such a low fiscal value, given the large number of new or newer vehicles on the roads. Perhaps a more realistic number is like 60%.
