There are 97 recovered from covid-19; 86-year-old Costa Rican is free of the virus

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19 April 2020

YALUTMRNAJDDPFLYFHQYGBT2IA — The trip was coordinated by the Foreign Ministry, the United States Embassy in Costa Rica and the airline. Photo: Jorge Navarro.

One hundred and twelve Costa Ricans were finally home, in Costa Rica, this Friday, returning on a special flight from Houston, Texas.

The 112 passengers arrived at the Juan Santamaría airport this Friday morning. Photo: Jorge Navarro / GN

They were stranded in the United States since March 31, when flights were suspended due to the pandemic, where there are now more than 700,000 infected and There, there are 738,900 infected and 39,015 dead (April 19).

This special flight was a coordinated effort between Costa Rica’s Foreign Ministry, the United States Embassy in Costa Rica and United Airlines.

It was an exchange flight, as a group of Americans who were in a similar situation in Tiquicia were able to back to the U.S.

The Ticos came from all over the United States: Texas, Louisiana, Colorado, Arizona, New Hampshire, Illinois, New York, New Jersey, and Missouri, and also from countries such as Korea and Japan, received full support from the authorities and coordinated to get to Texas where they boarded the plane without any problem.

The flight was coordinated by the Foreign Ministry, the United States Embassy in Costa Rica and the airline. Passengers paid their airfare. Photo: Jorge Navarro.

The flight arrived at Juan Santamaria International Airport at 10:30 am. Each passenger was interviewed and checked medically, the first passengers leaving the airport around 1 pm.

The Minister of Health, Dr. Daniel Salas said that 20 of the 112 passengers were tested, and two tested positive with the covid-19; the others were issued a health order not to leave their homes during the next 14 days.

Both the passengers and their families picking them up protected themselves with masks. Photo: José Cordero / GM

“People who did come symptomatic were tested. Those who took the test and those who did not, will be monitored daily to see if they develop symptoms, how they are feeling, and in addition to this, they were given a health order to isolate, as with all the people who have arrived in these days,” the Ministry of Health responded on Friday to a query from La Nación.

A family lined the inside of their car in plastic to pick up a loved one who returned from the United States. Photo: Jorge Navarro / GN

The Costa Rican government thanked U.S. officials for the openness and help provided so that the return of this group of Costa Ricans could take place.

Many of the returning Costa Ricans were received by relatives. Photo: José Cordero / GN

On Monday, April 20, another special flight by United Airlines, coordinated by the Governments of the United States and Costa Rica, will bring back to our country, from Houston, a new group of Costa Ricans from different locations in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.

The work of the Foreign Ministry has so far enabled the return to the country of 1,254 Costa Ricans stranded in 67 different countries.

In Houston, leaving for Costa Rica. Photo Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reminds people that if they do not have money to pay for plane tickets, only in proven cases of “situation of vulnerability”, they can submit a request for the “Repatriation Protocol” to get back home.

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Costa Rica Needs To Work, Work, Work (Trabajar, Trabajar, Trabajar)

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18 April 2020

Rico’s Digest – It’s been some time since I’ve heard the words “trabajar, trabajar, trabajar” (work, work, work).

They were made famous by President Carlos Alvarado during his presidential campaign and then in the first part his presidency that in a few weeks, May 8, approaches the midway point.

When asked how things are going, he would automatically, somewhere in his response, include “trabajar, trabajar, trabajar”.

It’s been some time since I’ve heard the words. Until today.

In his latest Tweet, Alvarado, used the words not for himself, but for the country, saying, Costa Rica needs to “trabajar, trabajar, trabajar” to get ahead.

Costa Rica necesita trabajar, trabajar, trabajar, para salir adelante. Yo agregaría, no solo necesitamos trabajar, trabajar, trabajar, sino unión, unión, unión y necesitamos más que nunca, solidaridad, solidaridad y solidaridad.

— Carlos Alvarado Quesada (@CarlosAlvQ) April 18, 2020

“I would add, not only do we need to “trabajar, trabajar, trabajar”, but also “unión, unión, unión” (unity, unity, unity) and “solidaridad, solidaridad y solidaridad” (solidarity, solidarity, solidarity).

Like him or not, he and his team, in particular Dr. Daniel Salas, have done an outstanding job in these times of pandemic. He has stepped up, has faced the nation, the criticism for the lockdowns, the restrictions and the praises for keeping the number of covid-19 victims to only 4.

In not so many words, he even got praise from Nicaraguan dictator Daniel Ortega, who has only had kind words for two other political figures, Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro.

Let’s get behind the president and show him he is not alone in “trabajar, trabajar, trabajar” to keep us safe and healthy from The Monster.

Thanks for listening.

Stay at home. Stay safe. Stay healthy.

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Sunlight destroys virus quickly, new U.S. govt tests find. And what does Costa Rica have a lot of?

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18 April 2020

The latest weather forecast from the IMN here.

e3c0fbd0-80db-11ea-9d9f-d9dff15137fc — results: Sunlight destroys the virus quickly

Good news for us, bad for the coronavirus. The national weather service, the Instituto Meteorológico Nacional (IMN) is predicting a Sunday (tomorrow) of clear skies throughout the country, which will mean lots of sunshine, hot all over and muggy in many places.

DHS S&T’s re COVID-19 (April 13, 2020) results: **Sunlight destroys the virus quickly**. Download the DHS S&& briefing here or read it below.

So, why is this good news for us and not so much for the virus?

An article published Friday on Yahoo News tells us that preliminary results from government lab experiments in the U.S. show that the coronavirus does not survive long in high temperatures and high humidity, and is quickly destroyed by sunlight

The study found that, from controlled tests of what scientists believed — but had not yet proved — to be true, the risk of “transmission from surfaces outdoors is lower during daylight” and under higher temperature and humidity conditions.

“Sunlight destroys the virus quickly,” reads the briefing marked for official use only and obtained by Yahoo News.

Virus lives longer at low humidity and inactivates faster at higher humidity;
virus lives longer at low temperatures and inactivates faster as temperature increases;
Sunlight destroys the virus quickly. DHS S&T’s re COVID-19 (April 13, 2020) results

Qasim Bukhari, a computational scientist at MIT and a co-author of the analysis, told Yahoo News in an interview. “No, we are not saying it (that at higher temperatures, the virus will suddenly go away). We are just seeing that there is a temperature – and humidity-related dependency, but I think many people now have started to realize this.”

Arthur Anderson, former director of the Office of Human Use and Ethics at the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases at Fort Detrick, Md, told Yahoo News, that “while the new lab results are important, the science behind how sunlight kills the virus is fairly well established”.

“[Ultraviolet] light breaks DNA into fragments. If the virus is floating around in the air and there’s bright sunlight, the UV component in sunlight will break the DNA or the RNA into pieces,” he told Yahoo News.

DHSST by Sharon Weinberger on Scribd

Hope is in the sun

The preliminary results offer hope that sunny, hot and muggy conditions is less hospitable for the virus, though experts caution it will by no means eliminate, or even necessarily decrease, new cases of COVID-19.

Clear skies over the entire country are expected on Sunday

And guess what, in Costa Rica, we have a lot of sunny, hot days and muggy conditions. Even in the “rainy” or “wet” (winter) season that the country is currently transitioning to.

Hopefully, the sun will also transition us out of the “zero” (or ‘cero’ in Spanish) season.

#IMN_imagen mañana despeja en todo el país, lo cual ocasionará un ambiente cálido este periodo.https://t.co/v7YWm1W9QN pic.twitter.com/QtuJt52pyN

— IMN, Costa Rica (@IMNCR) April 18, 2020

For those who have not experienced a Costa Rican winter, a typical “rainy” or “wet” season day will start off sunny, stronger by the hour, which leads to hot and muggy conditions with little to no winds until noon. Then winds then pick up, the clouds move in, the pouring rains begin. The rains can last up to 30 minutes in one area (sometimes more), the clouds moving. Everything cools off, repeat the next day.

The pattern will vary somewhat, depending on where you are in the country.

If you were wondering what’s like in the summer or “dry” season, pretty much the same as above, but without the rains.

So, if the lab experiments are validated, we in Costa Rica are in a good place to beat the war on the coronavirus.

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Marijuana Chicken, A Delicious Recipe Of Inmates

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18 April 2020

The Ministerio de Justicia y Paz (Ministry of Justice and Peace) – the folks who run the country’s prison system – just posted a Tweet advising visitors to the CAI Nelson Mandela, the San Carlos prison, that they know well the “Pollo Con Marihuana” recipe.

On Twitter the Ministry warns of anyone who tries to introduce this super special roasted chicken meal will be spending some time being interviewed (in other words interrogated) by the Prosecutor’s Office.

¿Pollo con marihuana? También conocemos la receta y ahora la persona que lo llevó al CAI Nelson Mandela, en San Carlos, tendrá que rendir cuentas ante la Fiscalía. La Policía Penitenciaria hace un trabajo hormiga para impedir el ingreso de drogas.#PolicíaPenitenciaria pic.twitter.com/O3DGfipOHz

— Ministerio de Justicia y Paz (@justiciaypazcr) April 17, 2020

“The Prison Police does fine work to prevent the entry of drugs,” says the Tweet.

But wait, it’s not just chicken.

The Prison Police also report another delicious recipe, mondongo (tripe) with marijuana.

¿Le apetece un jugoso mondongo? Este no se lo recomendamos. Llegó al CAI San José con un relleno de marihuana. El contrabando fue detectado por nuestra Policía Penitenciaria y la mujer que lo llevaba ya pudo verse cara a cara con un fiscal. #PolicíaPenitenciariaCR pic.twitter.com/MQtSVMehCX

— Ministerio de Justicia y Paz (@justiciaypazcr) April 17, 2020

They report that the woman who tried to smuggle it into the CAI San Jose has already had a face-to-face with the prosecutor.

In between the special chicken and mondongo meals, prisoners enjoy a new sport that has boomed in the country’s prisons: the sound of paddles and ping pong balls rattles in times of social isolation.

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Taking things seriously

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18 April 2020

allanamientos-oij-policia-sert-13 — Is this what it will take to control the borders?

We can only hope that it doesn’t come to this, to convince the population to stay at home, go out only if absolutely necessary.

Is this what it will take to control the borders?

Although Costa Rica does not have an army, the special tactical response unit, Servicio Especial de Respuesta Táctica – SERT, is well equipped and trained to act if and when necessary.

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These are the restriction vehicles and businesses that govern this weekend

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18 April 2020

15882658047_1db003153e_k — This is what the roads should look like this weekend. Photo from Flickr

What are restrictions on driving and businesses for this weekend, Saturday, April 18 and Sunday, April 19?

This is what the roads should look like this weekend. Photo from Flickr

In practice, no one will be able to drive their car or motorcycle this weekend, except to go to the supermarket or pharmacy, which must be justified to a Traffic Police or Fuerza Publica official if you are stopped.

The vehicular restrictions applied for the weekend:

On Saturday, only Odd plates (1, 3, 5, 7 and 9) will be able to circulate between 5 am and 7 pm
On Sunday, only Even plates (0, 2, 4, 6 and 8) will be able to circulate between 5 am and 7 pm
From 7:00 pm to 5:00 am, the traffic ban applies for all license plates, unless the driver can demonstrate that it is a health emergency or is one of the exempted vehicles.

The fine for violating the restriction on Saturday or Sunda is ¢110,000, plus six points on the driver’s license and most likely seizure of license plates and/or vehicle.

In the case businesses, all establishments that receive the public must close, including restaurants, who will be allowed to only offer take-out or home delivery and subject to vehicle restrictions.

Pretty much only supermarkets and pharmacies will be open and close early due to the vehicular restrictions.

Public transportation (buses) will operate from 4 am to 11 pm, but no standing passengers allowed.

Taxis can circulate 24 hours.

What about those who have to go to their jobs? They can, but if they are stopped, they must present the employer’s letter stating the name and surname of the employee, day and place of residence. Also, it is convenient to provide work ID.

All these measures try to prevent, during the weekend, clustering or meetings that favor the spread of the new coronavirus, which has already caused the death of four Costa Ricans and the contagion of 649.

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Since April 2018 there is a new Nicaraguan: the one who does not expect anything from Ortega

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18 April 2020

Article originally appeared on Today Nicaragua and is republished here with permission.

With pain, as is usual when a woman delivers a baby, a new citizen has been born in Nicaragua. One that is more committed to the country, which does not silence the injustices of the politicians, has unmasked the Daniel Ortega regime and does not believe anything fand does not expect anything from it.

Young people were the main protagonists of the social protests that began on April 18, 2018, against the Daniel Ortega regime. LA PRENSA / O. NAVARRETE

A self-convened citizen, who has had the guts to denounce the abuses of Orteguismo at the international level, demands a new political culture and, if that were not enough, has also revalued the national symbols, claimed characters and wagers for a change by peaceful means.

Sociologists Cirilo Otero and Manuel Ortega Hegg reached these conclusions, today, April 18, two years after the social outbreak in the country and whose response by the regime was a brutal repression that shed so much blood, mourned thousands of families and sent more people into exile.

Some 100,000 Nicaraguans let the country, not knowing when they would be able to come back and hug their loved ones.

Otero explains that with the social struggle two years ago there is a watershed. In other words, you can talk about the Nicaragua of before April 18, 2018, and the Nicaragua from that date.

“It changed the structure of Nicaraguan social and political thought,” he says and gives a current example of this new citizen: with the coronavirus, the people have designed protocols and put them into practice to protect themselves.

“If we had been listening to the government or to Mr. Ortega, in the worst case, it would have led us into the abyss,” he maintains.

The citizen rebellion as a historic peaceful struggle that changes the way of overthrowing a bad government only by arms. Sociologists Cirilo Otero and Manuel Ortega Hegg

According to Ortega Hegg, from that turbulent April, the demand for an ethical and honest policy in political operators, parties and leaders is also inherited. Also consistency and coherence between what is said and done. The rescue of national symbols such as blue and white; Sandino, who is no longer kidnapped by Ortega and recovers himself for what he is, a national hero. For all.

Of this conquest to which Ortega Hegg refers, there is a very representative fact. To do this, we looked to May 2018, in full social protests against the regime. The effigy of Sandino, placed at the entrance to his hometown, Niquinohomo, leaving behind the colors red and black (colors of the Sandinista party) and becomes blue and white (colors of Nicaragua).

This action undertaken by a group of self-summoned people portrays that civic struggle for the emancipation of the caudillo (political leader).

“A central issue, it seems to me, is this process that indicates not only a way of doing politics, but of doing it peacefully. That is new in the history of Nicaragua.

“In history, government changes have always been by violence, armed means, and somehow they keep repeating, that the one who overthrew the other through violence, must be overthrown in the same way. That process and the enormous coherence of the citizen movement demanding that the change be made by peaceful means seems extraordinary to me”, explains Ortega Hegg.

Lessons and transformations

Otero acknowledges that after these two years of resistance, raised fist and screams at the top of their lungs; persecution, jail, and spilled blood, there are lessons learned: that there must be no frustration because after all Ortega continues with his iron hand.

“In terms of social history there are transformations in the long term. Nothing short-term,” he clarifies.

For his part, Ortega Hegg says that the essence of civic protest is kept alive “but it has adapted to the conditions, we are in a reality of absolute repression where the minimum expression of these new values and this desire for change are not allowed.

“Obviously it forces one to look for new ways of expressing it. This is a movement that was born on social networks and that should not be forgotten. That is new in Nicaragua and it is a movement that has recovered social networks to do politics again, not just the streets,” concluded Ortega Hegg.

Source: La Prensa

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Tico who overcame the coronavirus: “I died twice in intensive care”

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17 April 2020

YT3J2ZHPXJFYBHBC6SWGK5Z6TM — 100/5000 Don José recovered from coronavirus with 68 thanks to the fact that he has always led a healthy life. Courtesy.

“When I entered the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and they were putting machines and tubes all over my body, I remember thinking: ‘God, what’s happening to me, I don’t want to die.’ The coronavirus is not playing, I died twice in the ICU (twice the doctors revived him)… I came to believe that I was not going to get out of this one ”.

Don José on leaving the Calderón Guardia Hospital, after recovering from coronavirus.

That is how Don José Manuel Granados, 68, a retired automotive mechanics professor and affectionately nicknamed Cholo, described his startling experience with the coronavirus. He is one of 88 (as of Friday) recovered in the country.

He is from San José. He told his story of how life went from brown to very dark with the pandemic.

“Being in the ICU, you don’t even know what day it is. I was afraid because of my state of health, I didn’t even know how I was; however, I asked a nurse and she told me that on Good Friday, that day I felt God saying to me: ‘stay calm you are going to get out of this’, so I calmed down. I really felt it,” Cholo told La Teja.

Of course, it is easy to talk about it now because his health is progressing super fast in the recovery lane, because he no longer has the coronavirus, but the viacrucis for him and his family was very long, in fact, it still does not end, because he has infected family members who are fighting the war that he already won.

Steffanie Granados Gazo, don José’s daughter, explained that her father was infected in the United States, a country where he was with a relative, visiting family, from January to March.

Don José, 68, says he recovered from coronavirus to the fact that he has always led a healthy life.

“The return to the country was an ordeal because the airlines were already canceling trips and daddy was told that the flight from Panama to Costa Rica was canceled, imagine, they would have left him in Panama. We did what we could, we had to spend a platal (a ton of money) on other tickets, but the important thing was to have him in the country and thank God we did it”, Steffanie recalled.

Finally, they arrived in Tiquicia (Costa Rica) on March 23, at dawn, and Health authorities, just like that, were all over us with the quarantine order.

“We have been cautious with the coronavirus since it appeared, that’s why we went with masks, gloves and disinfectant spray to pick him up at the airport, first we bathed him in disinfectant and we did not touch each other, he had on a mask, the other relative also, in short, we were very careful.

“The next day, all at once the other family member had symptoms, we immediately called the people in charge of the health area and they came to the house. He tested positive for the coronavirus.

“From that moment on, we tripled the controls and the isolation of my father and my sister (Massiel) who lives next door and now she is in total quarantine, she has not presented any symptoms,” says Nillo, Don José’s son

Despite the fact that the family member with whom he traveled tested positive for coronavirus, don José was fine, he felt well and everything was normal; However, after a few days, he began to feel tired, he was always looking to lie down, his desire to eat had stopped, and he did not even want to drink water, he was short of breath.

The health authorities never let up, they called every day, explains Nillo, and the day the shortness of breath increased, they did not wait and sent the ambulance.

“The nurses in the ICU at Calderón Guardia through the window always yelled at dad that he was going to come out of it ‘pura vida’. I have no way to repay them ”, said Steffanie.

“The arrival of the ambulance I will never forget in my life, it was like in Hollywood movies. It did not get to the house, parked in front, but in the middle of the street, the paramedics began to put on their suits and began to shout, “Where is the patient? Where is the patient?”

“Seeing my dad go in an ambulance with coronavirus, knowing that we will not be able to speak to him anymore, hug him, feeling that it might be the last day that I saw him alive, it tore my soul. One has a lot of faith, but the coronavirus has killed many people in the world, it is inevitable to think negatively. It was very hard,” said Steffanie, recalling that day, Monday, March 30.

Don José had many bad days ahead of him. He spent 15 days in the ICU of the Calderón Guardia Hospital.

“I thought I was not going to get over this,” says don José.

“My dad beat the coronavirus because he is very happy, very positive, he always walks with a smile, he is always motivated. He is brave”, adds the daughter.

Inexplicable

Don José and his daughter Steffanie, do not understand how Costa Rican continue to ignore the recommendations and go out as if nothing, in the middle of a pandemic.

“One is angry and sad at the same time, it is incredible to see people not understand. This is real. Coronavirus kills and I see so many people on the streets that it surprises me.

“What occurred to my family I do not wish on my worst enemy. We must all understand that these are days of staying at home so as not to suffer what we suffered.

Selfie time. Total care, now Don José, Ciara and Steffanie, promote the use of a mask.

“Your heart wants to explode from pain when you have a family member with coronavirus, so I ask people to listen and not go out,” said Steffanie.

Currently, Don José takes maximum care of himself, always wears a mask and does not even go out the door. He is totally isolated serving a 15-day quarantine and now is not the time to think about hugging his daughters.

“God got me out of this so I could continue to give love to my family. You have to be very careful,” says this warrior.

Read the original article (in Spanish) here.

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Coronavirus In Costa Rica: 88 people have already won the battle; Active cases drops

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17 April 2020

FireShot Screen Capture #261 - 'Nuevo coronavirus en Costa Rica_ 649 casos confirmados; por primera vez cifra de pacientes recupera_' - www_nacion_com — Minister of Health Daniel Salas during a live broadcast from Casa Presidencial of the daily covid-19 briefing

Health Minister Daniel Salas announced this Friday that 649 people have tested positive for the coronavirus in the country. Seven more cases compared to Thursday.

Minister of Health Daniel Salas during a live broadcast from Casa Presidencial of the daily covid-19 briefing

At the daily press conference, the Minister explained by gender the virus has affected 312 women and 337 men.

“There are positive cases with ages ranging from one year to 87 years. There are 588 adults, 31 seniors, and 30 minors. There are patients in 59 cantons of the 7 provinces ”, he detailed.

The number of hospitalized has dropped to 15, of which only 10 are in Intensive Care Units (also down from the previous day) and that 88 people have fully recovered. The deaths remain at four.

The good news, for the first time, Costa Rica recorded a day with more recovered than new cases of Covid-19. Also, the number of active cases (total infected, less recovered and deaths) has dropped. Currently, there are 557 active cases, 7 less than the previous day of 564. The number could keep dropping as more people recover and new confirmed cases continue to drop.

Flu vaccine

The executive president of the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social, Román Macaya, took the opportunity to announce that the vaccination campaign against influenza will begin on May 4, with the aim of reducing the spread of this respiratory virus in the midst of the pandemic.

In total 1,300,000 doses of this medicine were purchased to vaccinate children, pregnant women, seniors and those with risk factors.

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Why did Ortega praise Costa Rica for COVID-19?

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17 April 2020

Ortega-15-4-2020-4- — Screen capture of live television airing on April 15, 2020

Rico’s Digest – Daniel Ortega, President of Nicaragua, reappeared on Wednesday, April 15, after more than a month (34 days to be exact) of being seen in public, supposedly hiding out from his people, the world and the covid-19 coronavirus.

A homeless man wears a face mask against the spread of the new coronavirus, COVID-19, as he walks past a mural depicting Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, in Managua on April 9, 2020. Photo by INTI OCON / AFP

The leader of the Sandinista regime, also called a dictator, took his place at the head of the table, with his wife and vice president, Rosario Murillo, at his side and surrounded by members of his cabinets, to address the Nicaraguan people.

During the more than a month of his nowhere to be seen, by telephone, Murillo has been the contact of the population, the voice of the Ortega-Murillo administration.

Screen capture of live television airing on April 15, 2020. Daniel Ortega with his wife and vice-president, Rosario Murillo

It was with great expectation the announced appearance of Ortega on Wednesday, an appearance that was to have occurred at 2:00 pm, but in typical Ortega fashion of being late, didn’t start until a few minutes before 6:00 pm.

The appearance was completely micromanaged, from the location, in the meeting room at the heavily protected Ortega compound in the El Carmen neighborhood of Managua, that is his residency and presidential offices. Ortega refuses to reside and work from the Casa Presidencial used by his predecessors.

Screen capture of live television airing on April 15, 2020. No masks here. No social distancing.

The independent media, of what remains of it in the country, was instructed to carry the Ortega appearance, fed from the official government channel, in full, without commentary and unedited.

So, why did Ortega take time of his extensive intervention to praise Costa Rican authorities in their attention given to a young Nicaraguan minor, pregnant and symptoms associated with the covid-19, who crossed illegally into Costa Rica?

She was tested for the covid-19, but it was negative.

“These days, they detained a Nicaraguan girl in Costa Rica. A 17-year-old girl who was pregnant. The Costa Rican authorities detained her because she was crossing illegally, they have the border closed, and immediately the media began to say that she had the coronavirus, the Nicaraguan. But, the Costa Rican authorities acting with great professionalism, seriousness, and responsibility submitted her to the examination and said that she does not have a coronavirus,” said Ortega.

The dictator surprised when pointing out that the coronavirus “is a sign from God, who is saying that you (the people) are on the wrong track, spending billions on atomic bombs, atomic weapons and on military bases.”

Ortega said in his message that his country faces the emergency with “limited resources, but with patience and discipline” and this country is following international recommendations to confront the covid-19, applied “in accordance with Nicaraguan reality.”

“We have the capacity to attend to coronavirus patients,” Ortega said.

Nicaragua faces severe criticism for the management of the health emergency, mostly for the lack thereof. Currently, the neighboring country reports only 9 positive cases of the coronavirus, of which 5 people have recovered and one death.

Nicaragua is one of the few countries that does not have social distancing measures, does not prohibit mass gatherings, has not canceled school and university classes and has kept its borders open, in fact inviting tourists to visit. Though airlines are no longer flying in and out of the country.

Given the concern over the situation in the territory of Nicaragua, Costa Rica reinforced immigration controls on the Northern Border in order to curb the irregular entry of migrants by so-called blind spots.

Oh, you were looking for the answer as to why. Sorry, I don’t have a clue. But if you do, send me an email or post to the Q’s official Facebook page.

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Guapiles Hospital installs mobile morgue

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17 April 2020

The Guapiles Hospital has installed a mobile morgue (morgue movíl in Spanish), a refrigerated container for the handling of up to 16 corpses.

Health authorities are quick to point out that the temporary morgue is for any eventualities that could arise with the COVID-19 pandemic, reported NP Noticias Pococi.

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10 minors have been infected with COVID-19 in the last week

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17 April 2020

2085103296_1140x520 — 10 minors were infected with the covid-19 in the past week

Health authorities call on adults to reinforce hygiene and safety measures among minors, this, according to Thursday’s report, in one week the number of minors infected with COVID-19 increased by 10.

10 minors were infected with the covid-19 in the past week

On Thursday, April 9, there were 18 cases and on Thursday, April 16, the number is 28 (4% of the total infected). See the covid-19 timeline in Costa Rica.

The number of cases of coronavirus in our country, to Thursday, April 16, has already reached 642: 308 are women and 334 men in a range of one to 87 years of age.

There are currently 74 recovered and 4 deceased; 17 people are hospitalized, 11 of them in intensive care.

The Ministry of Health is insisting on the population abiding by the measures, they do not want to see hundreds of patients in hospitals, overwhelming the capacity of the health system, resulting in patients without adequate care.

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The 25 Corona Rules in Costa Rica

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17 April 2020

From William’s Post to The Expats Guide to Coronavirus in Costa Rica (Team COVID-19).

Just for clarification… The Corona Rules:

Basically, you can’t leave the house for any reason, but if you have to, then you can.
Masks are useless, but maybe you have to wear one, it can save you, it is useless, but maybe it is mandatory as well.
Stores are closed, except those that are open.
You should not go to hospitals unless you have to go there. Same applies to doctors, you should only go there in case of emergency, provided you are not too sick.
This virus is deadly but still not too scary, except that sometimes it actually leads to a global disaster.
Gloves won’t help, but they can still help.
Everyone needs to stay HOME, but it’s important to GO OUT.
There is no shortage of groceries in the supermarket, but there are many things missing when you go there in the evening, but not in the morning. Sometimes.
The virus has no effect on children except those it affects.
Animals are not affected, but there is still a cat that tested positive in Belgium in February when no one had been tested, plus a few tigers here and there…
You will have many symptoms when you are sick, but you can also get sick without symptoms, have symptoms without being sick, or be contagious without having symptoms. Oh, my…
In order not to get sick, you have to eat well and exercise, but eat whatever you have on hand and it’s better not to go out, well, but no…
It’s better to get some fresh air, but you get looked at very wrong when you get some fresh air, and most importantly, you don’t go to parks or walk. But don’t sit down, except that you can do that now if you are old, but not for too long or if you are pregnant (but not too old).
You can’t go to retirement homes, but you have to take care of the elderly and bring food and medication.
If you are sick, you can’t go out, but you can go to the pharmacy.
You can get restaurant food delivered to the house, which may have been prepared by people who didn’t wear masks or gloves. But you have to have your groceries decontaminated outside for 3 hours. Pizza too?
Every disturbing article or disturbing interview starts with “I don’t want to trigger panic, but…”
You can’t see your older mother or grandmother, but you can take a taxi and meet an older taxi driver.
You can walk around with a friend but not with your family if they don’t live under the same roof.
You are safe if you maintain the appropriate social distance, but you can’t go out with friends or strangers at the safe social distance.
The virus remains active on different surfaces for two hours, no, four, no, six, no, we didn’t say hours, maybe days? But it takes a damp environment. Oh no, not necessarily.
The virus stays in the air – well no, or yes, maybe, especially in a closed room, in one hour a sick person can infect ten, so if it falls, all our children were already infected at school before it was closed. But remember, if you stay at the recommended social distance, however in certain circumstances you should maintain a greater distance, which, studies show, the virus can travel further, maybe.
We count the number of deaths but we don’t know how many people are infected as we have only tested so far those who were “almost dead” to find out if that’s what they will die of…
We have no treatment, except that there may be one that apparently is not dangerous unless you take too much (which is the case with all medications).
We should stay locked up until the virus disappears, but it will only disappear if we achieve collective immunity, so when it circulates… but we must no longer be locked up for that?

**Copied and Pastes from Facebook

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Emirates Airline Begins Conducting Rapid COVID-19 Tests For Boarding Passengers

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17 April 2020

dsc-7030-84102cb37d41ac7b4404d577ad4de772f35d2779-s800-c85 — Passengers are tested for COVID-19 at Dubai International Airport on Wednesday before departing to Tunisia. Emirates Airline

Rico’s Covid-19 Digest: This from NPR published April 15 , in a move that could be a step toward making air travel palatable to the public again, Emirates Airlines has begun conducting rapid-on site COVID-19 for passengers.

Passengers are tested for COVID-19 at Dubai International Airport on Wednesday before departing to Tunisia.
Emirates Airlines

The testing began with passengers on a flight from Dubai to Tunisia on Wednesday. The analysis is a blood test with results within 10 minutes. The airline says it is the first to roll out rapid testing.

Emirates says it is working to scale up testing capabilities and extend it to other flights. It says its testing could also be used to provide confirmation for Emirates passengers traveling to countries that require COVID-19 test certificates.

The testing accompanies other changes on Emirates. Passengers are now required to wear masks throughout boarding and flight. Gone are in-flight magazines, and carry-on luggage isn’t permitted – only small items like handbags and briefcases.

Etihad Airways, which is also based in the United Arab Emirates, said last week that it is trialing new kiosks that can monitor the temperature, heart rate and respiratory rate of a person checking in for a flight or dropping a bag. If there are signs of illness, the kiosk will suspend the check-in or drop-off and alert a staff member. The kiosks are being tested at the airport in Abu Dhabi.

“This technology is not designed or intended to diagnose medical conditions,” said Etihad’s Vice President Hub and Midfield Operations, Joerg Oppermann. “It is an early warning indicator which will help to identify people with general symptoms, so that they can be further assessed by medical experts, potentially preventing the spread of some conditions to others preparing to board flights to multiple destinations.”

The airline industry has been hit hard by a steep decline in demand due to the coronavirus pandemic. The number of people flying in the U.S. is down 95% since the beginning of March.

On Tuesday, airlines reached a deal in principle with the Trump administration for billions of dollars in payroll support payments.

Read the original article here.

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Displaced Venezuelans face poverty and pandemic in Colombia

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17 April 2020

Article originally appeared on Q Colombia and is republished here with permission.

According to official statistics, there are more than 3,200 cases of COVID-19 in Colombia and there have been at least 144 deaths. As the number of cases rises, President Ivan Duque has extended a nationwide lockdown to at least April 26. He has pledged to support citizens who will lose their livelihoods.

Since 2016, more than 4.6 million Venezuelan have fled the country, mostly to other Latin American countries like Colombia. Photo: UNHCR/Fabio Cuttica

This does not extend to most of the migrants in Colombia, many of whom work in low-paid informal jobs.

There are about 1.5 million Venezuelans currently living in Colombia. Many of them work informally.

Venezuelans who have lost their jobs may also face homelessness if they can no longer pay their rent. Others already live on the streets. Thousands of Venezuelans have decided to make the trek home – back to Venezuela — even though it might be hundreds of kilometers long for many of them and the border between Colombia and Venezuela is officially closed.

‘This dangerous route’

Yuri Mendoza is 17 years old and five months pregnant. She started her journey back to Venezuela in Cali, Colombia’s third-biggest city, where she used to sell lemonade and candy at intersections. But she was shooed on by police and told to go back to where she came from.

“Venezuela is my home,” Mendoza said, “and, if something happens to me, it should be there.” She decided to return via the same route she had taken a year before: a two-week walk across the mountains.

Mendoza had left Venezuela during the economic fallout from the political upheaval that followed the 2013 death of President Hugo Chavez. Venezuela’s domestic situation has not improved and is likely to get worse as global oil prices plunge. Furthermore, the already-deteriorated healthcare system is not in a position to cope with coronavirus patients.

Juan Carlos Atacho is 32 and has been living with his wife and three children in an impoverished district of Colombia’s capital, Bogota, for a year. He used to work in a hair salon, earning US$7 per day. The salon was forced to close for the lockdown. The family lost their only source of income, and the rent is due in a few days.

Atacho said the family would only go back to Venezuela if it were their very last option.

After the borders were closed, the only route back is illegal, which means dealing with smugglers and drug dealers. “I will not take this dangerous route with my children again,” he said.

Studies of current and former citizens of **Venezuela** indicated that reasons for **leaving** the country included lack of freedom, high levels of insecurity and lack of opportunity. Image from https://www.worldbank.org

Officials in Colombia and Venezuela are negotiating a humanitarian corridor.

“It is a difficult situation because we don’t want any Venezuelans or anybody to be on the streets while the country is under lockdown,” said Felipe Munoz, the Colombian government’s commissioner for migration.

“Venezuela let in about 1,000 people in recent days,” he added, expressing optimism that this would continue.

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The Church’s response to Covid-19 in Ecuador

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17 April 2020

ecuador-corona — A body lies outside a clinic in Guayaquil, Ecuador (AFP)

From Vatican News. Father José Barranco is a Comboni missionary based in Ecuador, the Latin American nation most affected by the coronavirus. Speaking to Vatican News, he describes the situation in Guayaquil, a port city of 2.3 million inhabitants, and home to almost half of the 2,700 positive cases of Covid-19 in the country.

A body lies outside a clinic in Guayaquil, Ecuador (AFP)

The situation throughout Ecuador is very difficult, he says, “but in Guayaquil it is catastrophic”.
Double emergency

The coronavirus pandemic has triggered a double health emergency in Ecuador: firstly, because the health system has collapsed, and secondly because the bodies of the dead are accumulating in houses and streets, waiting to be taken to the cemetery.

Ecuador’s President, Lenin Moreno, has confirmed that around 150 bodies are collected daily from homes and public spaces. But this is not enough. Morgues are full and many funeral homes refuse to provide mortuary services for fear of contagion.
Not enough

The health system can’t cope because medical equipment and staff are lacking. Doctors and nurses are working up to 16 hours a day, doing double shifts.

The extent of the epidemic is partly due to the population not adhering to government instructions to stay at home, says Fr Barranco. But in the vast poverty-stricken areas of Guayaquil it is difficult to impose quarantine. A house is often just one room, he says, “where three, four or even five people live together, and there is little food. What are they supposed to do?”.

Everyone is trying to respond as best they can, says Fr Barranco. But whatever the government, the Church, or medical personnel try to do in this situation, “is not enough”.
The Church’s response

Fr Barranco says the Catholic Church is offering both physical and spiritual support to those in need. He gives the example of a hospital run by the Guayaquil Archdiocese. The structure does not have the capacity to assist Covid-19 sufferers, but it does admit patients with other pathologies.

This helps alleviate some of the pressure from the public health care system. The same hospital is also providing medical advice through a telephone service.
Faith and hope

Local Catholic parishes are working with the government on its “Together we feed more people” program. They act as collection and distribution points for food rations which are vital at this time, as many people are suffering from hunger.

Fr Barranco is also Director of the National Catholic Radio in the capital city of Quito. He says these same parishes are providing liturgies and moments of prayer through the media. All of these gestures, he concludes, aim to “sow faith and hope”.

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Tica in Ecuador: “The streets are full of corpses, hospitals are collapsed, it is terrifying”

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17 April 2020

Between tears and despair, Sylvia Piedra, a 44-year-old Costa Rican mother, told her story of she lives daily facing the coronavirus pandemic in the city of Guayaquil, Ecuador, one of the areas most affected by covid-19 in Latin America.

The 44-year-old mother of two from Puriscal tells the experience of how her life has changed when facing the Covid-19 health crisis in one of the hardest-hit countries in Latin America.

Originally from Puriscal, the mother of two daughters, described to AmeliaRueda.com the turn her life has taken two months ago, when the first positive case of the virus was confirmed in Ecuador, the third country with the most deaths registered in the American continent.

“What we are experiencing is the closest thing to a horror movie, there are corpses on the streets, both public and private hospitals are collapsed and there are so many dead that there is no space in cemeteries,” she described.

Sylvia admitted that when she decided to move to Ecuador with her husband and two daughters four years ago, she never imagined that she would have to live through the impact of a pandemic in a country that has shown great negligence in handling cases.

“One is never prepared to face a situation like this and less in the conditions in which we are in,” she said.

The Ecuadorian government confessed weeks ago that there was a gap between what the figures said and what the images showed that began to circulate on social networks of people dead in homes and on the sidewalks of Guayaquil.

“As painful as this situation is, we have to make the information transparent, the truth must be said, the data cannot be hidden or changed,” reported the president, Lenín Moreno, at a press conference on April 2.

The approach that the Ecuadorian government has given to the health crisis caused by the new coronavirus is one of the main reasons why Sylvia and her family are eager to return to Costa Rican soil.

“There is not a day that goes by that I do not wish with all my heart to return to my country, to my land, to be with my people, with my family, facing a crisis like this outside your home (country) is a nightmare, I do not wish it on anyone.

“I try to be brave and positive every day, but there are days that are more difficult than others and the fear we feel increases and grows, especially with more confirmed cases and deaths,” she described.

Between the uncertainty and the cases, Sylvia and her family made a repatriation request more than a month with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Costa Rica in Ecuador; however, to date they have received no response.

According to the Costa Rican, given the closing of the borders of most American countries, the possibilities of purchasing a flight to Costa Rica are almost nil, making their mission of returning to national soil increasingly difficult.

“We have tried by all means, but we have had no response, at the consulate they tell us that we have to have together more than 100 Costa Ricans to expedite the request for a humanitarian flight; however, until now only 19 Costa Ricans have made the request,” she added.

Ticos are privileged

“Every day I ask God that none of my daughters get sick, because that would be a death sentence,” says Sylvia, narrating how the public and private health system has collapsed in recent weeks as a result of the exponential increases in positive cases of the new coronavirus in Ecuador.

According to Telesur, the Ecuadorian press confirms what has been described by the Costa Rican, not only is there an over-occupation in the country’s hospitals, but the death of more than 72 health professionals among doctors and nurses has also been reported.

One of the complaints repeatedly made by doctors and nurses is that they do not have adequate biosecurity conditions to attend to those who arrive at health centers, collapsed after the growth of infections. “We march to war without arms,” the professionals detailed.

Sylvia explained that every time she sees the news of what is happening with the Ecuadorian health system, she can confirm how privileged Costa Ricans are to have a health system like that of the Costa Rican Social Security Fund (CCSS) and the Ministry of Health.

“The work that the Costa Rican authorities are doing is admirable, the Ticos who are currently experiencing this pandemic in Costa Rica are very privileged, it shows the security and responsibility with which the government is acting,” said the Puriscaleña

Finally, Sylvia wanted to send a message to the entire national population of Costa Rica, to abide by the sanitary measures of social distancing to prevent a situation like the one faced in Ecuador from being repeated in Costa Rica.

“This disease is not playing, we must not believe ourselves to be omnipotent, it can affect anyone, please pay attention, do not leave your houses, do not group, here in Ecuador people began to trust and then it got out of hand, I don’t want that to happen in my country”, she concluded.

As of this morning, Friday, April 17, Ecuador reports 8,225 cases and 403 deaths.

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Carlos Alvarado asks the IMF for a 0% rate loan to face the economic crisis due to coronavirus

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16 April 2020

EVsA4SZXsAA6edg — 30,000 face protection masks were produced in Costa Rica in one week. They will protect our first line of defense against COVID-19. Our talent is impressive and shows us that it is thanks to the joint effort that we will succeed.

All this week, president Carlos Alvarado has been missing from the mid-day conference table. He’s been busy. Busy courting the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for long term financing to face the economic crisis of the coronavirus.

30,000 face protection masks were produced in Costa Rica in one week to protect the first line of defense against COVID-19. “Our talent is impressive and shows us that it is thanks to the joint effort that we will succeed,” Tweeted President Carlos Alvarado

“The IMF has proposed that COVID-19 measures should be extraordinary in order to protect people. For this, we propose that interest rates for budget support should be zero, fixed, and long-term. I call for support for this proposal, especially Mid Income developing countries,” posted President Alvarado on Twitter.

El FMI planteó que las medidas frente al Covid19 deben ser extraordinarias y para las personas.

Proponemos que las tasas de apoyo presupuestario sean cero y fijas así como de largo plazo.

Hago un llamado a apoyar esta propuesta en especial a países de renta media en desarrollo.

— Carlos Alvarado Quesada (@CarlosAlvQ) April 16, 2020

On Wednesday, the Government of Costa Rica began negotiations with the IMF in search of a loan called a “rapid financing instrument”, which has already been used by 14 countries to deal with the pandemic. The amount of financing would be about US$800 million dollars.

Assisting the President in talks with the FMI are Finance Minister, Rodrigo Chaves; Minister of Planning, Pilar Garrido; and Rodrigo Cubero, the president of the Central Bank.

Last weekend, Chaves told lawmakers: “Obviously there will be conditions because it is a program of the (Monetary) Fund and that will have to be discussed with you (the legislators) and with the public.”

In fact, the Legislative Assembly has already approved a loan of US$500 million with the Banco de Desarrollo de América Latina (CAF) – Latin America Development Bank.

This money was going to be used to improve public indebtedness, but the national emergency forced to change its purpose and allocate part of the CAF loan to attend to the people who have become unemployed by the health crisis, as well as aid to employers and independent workers whose businesses are affected.

Also, it will support the Costa Rican Social Security Fund (CCSS) to buy supplies and equipment for patient care of covid-19.

IMF approves Panama loan

Southern neighbor Panama had their deal approved with the IMF for US$515 million dollars.

“The International Monetary Fund approved a request for emergency financial aid by Panama for an approximate amount of $515 million dollars to meet the urgent needs of the balance of payments derived from the outbreak of the covid-19 pandemic,” the agency said in a statement.

“The (Panamanian) government has implemented measures to contain and mitigate the spread of the pandemic. However, significant uncertainties persist and the economic consequences could intensify if the containment measures are extended,” said Mitsuhiro Furusawa, deputy managing director of the IMF.

The details of the loan were not disclosed.

Panama, as of this Thursday afternoon, reported 3,751 positive cases and 103 deaths from the covid-19.

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Samtec hiring 150 people for its Alajuela medical devices plant

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16 April 2020

The American company Samtec will hire 150 new workers for its medical devices plant located in the Zona Franca Zeta, in Alajuela.

The company has 14 years of operating in Costa Rica and currently has 1,010 employees.

The new workers will be for assembly processes, manual manufacturing or using electronic component machines for different applications and types of industries, according to the firm’s press release on April 16.

“The Samtec Costa Rica plant represents around 20% of the company’s total production globally,” explained José Sánchez, general manager of Samtec Costa Rica.

Sánchez stressed the Costa Rica government’s handling of the coronavirus crisis allowed the company to make the decision to expand its operation in the country.

The US company also reported that it will donate 800 N95 masks to the Costa Rican Social Security Fund (CCSS), and US$25,000.

The delivery of these funds is made through the initiative led by the North American Costa Rican Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM), which set the goal of collecting US$750,000 to buy 130 diagnostic equipment and 4,000 tests to detect the new coronavirus.

More information on this job opportunity at https://www.samtec.com/about#careers.

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Should You Use A Mask? Health Minister Says “Those who want to are free to use them”

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16 April 2020

Although it is not a recommendation or order for the general population to use a mask when out and about, Health Minister, Daniel Salas, said about the use of a mask that “people who want to use them are free to use them.”

He indicated that the use of masks is a direct recommendation for people with any of the symptoms of the new coronavirus, who work with patients or people in recovery processes.

But in general, the population can use them if they want to.

Of course, Salas said there are several dangers with masks. One of the first is that they can give a “false sense of security”, so some people may “loosen” other measures to contain COVID-19, such as social distancing and not touching their faces without first washing their hands.

Another danger is that the masks can become sources of infection, or in the case of being homemade, these could have been made with unsuitable materials and that, really, do not represent any protection.

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COVID-19 forces Limon to suspend the Grand Parade 2020

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16 April 2020

The coronavirus pandemic forced Limonenses to make the decision to suspend the famous “Grand Parade” parade, which takes place every August 31 in the framework of the Día del Negro y la Cultura Afrocostarricense. (Black and Afro-Costa Rican Culture day).

Marcelle Taylor Brown, general coordinator of the Limón Negro Ethnic Cultural Civic Committee said that they decided to cancel the activity and announce it well in advance, due to the organization that the event requires.

“We members agree to suspend all the activities that we had scheduled within the framework of the Festival of Black Culture 2020, throughout the year. These activities include the Grand Parade gala. Why? Due to the health crisis situation and the country’s economic situation,” said Taylor Brown.

The retired teacher assured that they regret having to make that decision, but that it was something very well analyzed.

The event had taken place for the last 21 years.

“It is a unique activity in the country. There will be too many people, from all over, and we have to do our part collaborating to safeguard ourselves from the pandemic. I think it was a very wise decision. Presumably, if we overcome this crisis 1-2 months before, it is not convenient because it is a very large organization and it would not give us time. We are a serious group, we have been doing it for 21 years, she added.

For several months the committee had received requests from organizations to participate in the parade.

“In the Grand Parade participation is not open. It has to be by invitation because it is a cultural activity, of educational values, which rests on 4 axes: culture, values, education and God,” she explained.

In the province of Limón there are 6 people infected with COVID-19. One in center of Limón, one in Siquirres and four in Pococí.

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Ticos take up to 17 days to recover from COVID-19

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16 April 2020

Costa Ricans infected with the new coronavirus take 17 days to recover from the respiratory disease, which means that the virus is no longer detected in tests obtained from patients.

Daniel Salas, Minister of Health, said that according to calculations by the World Health Organization (WHO) a patient takes an average of 14 days to heal. However, in Costa Rica 85% of the recovered people have lasted “16, 17 days or more”.

For this reason, health authorities will not test sick people 14 days after starting treatment, but rather approximately 17 days.

At the press conference on Tuesday, April 14, Minister Salas indicated that until today they have no report of people who have become infected with the coronavirus after recovering.

As today, Thursday, there are 642 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the country, of which 74 have been recovered; 16 people are currently hospitalized, of which 11 are in intensive care units.

A fourth death from the virus was confirmed Wednesday morning.

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Tourism in Danger by Covid-19: ICT Reports Historical Drop In Arrivals By Air In March

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16 April 2020

One of the most relevant sectors for the Costa Rican economy is declared in “Total Emergency and State of Calamity”, as it is the first time in the “zero” season that total income ceases.

Wildlife watching in Costa Rica. Photo from Lonely Planet

The Board of Directors of the Instituto Costarricense de Turismo (ICT) – Costa Rican Tourism Board – stated that all State institutions, Powers of the Republic, Autonomous and Semi-Autonomous Institutions, as well as Municipalities throughout the country, are required to collaborate in the broadest and most expeditious manner within the framework that the serious reality demands, in order to alleviate the situation of the Private Tourism Sector.

“(…) We are facing a zero season for the first time in the history of our country, which means the total ceasing of the income of the raw material, (tourists) for the sector, therefore, the total ceasing of financial income to face its obligations,” said the ICT in a statement.

In March 2020, the ICT reports that 127,201 people from abroad arrived in the country by air, a figure that compared to the 276,036 international arrivals in Marhc2019 represents a decrease of 54%, due to the covid-19 pandemic; a historical fall.

All entries (land, air and sea) of international arrivals in March were 162,994 (51.4% less than the same month the previous year).

“The impact of the global pandemic by covid-19 in the Costa Rican tourism sector is unmatched in the history of Costa Rica. This is indisputably corroborated by the official tourist figures for the month of March, of all international arrivals, ” said the ICT statement.

In February 2020 there had been an increase of 10.4% by air compared to the same month the previous year, and in January 2020, 5.2%.

“This crisis affects the entire tourism industry as a whole: hoteliers, transporters, transfer agencies, tour operators, guides, porters, chambers and associations, and others associated with tourism, such as artisan groups,” said María Amalia Revelo, Minister of Tourism.

At 11:59 pm on March 18, Costa Rica closes its borders to international tourists, allowing only the arrival of Costa Ricans and residents. The measure was initially up to April 12 and extended to April 30 in order to protect the public health.

According to data provided by the Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería (DGME) – Costa Rica’s immigration service – and analyzed by the ICT, 89,275 tourists entered the Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) or San Jose airport, in the third month of the year, representing a decrease of 54.5 % to what was registered last year, in the same month.

The Daniel Oduber Quirós Airport (LIR), in Guanacaste, reported 37,826 international arrivals, a drop of 52.5% compared to March 2019.

In March, arrivals from the United States saw a 56.5% drop. This means that last month, 68,772 visitors from that country entered Costa Rica. Last year, in the same period, there were 158,062 arrivals of Americans.

Arrivals by air from Europe totaled 24,367; This figure represents a decrease of 44.2% compared to March 2019, with 43,662 arrivals.

The arrivals hall at the Juan Santamaria International airport in San Jose (SJO)

The same downward trend was maintained in each of the main European markets: France, Spain, Germany, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and the Netherlands (Holland), averaging a reduction in visits of more than 40%, as a result of the effects of the covid-19 pandemic in world tourism.

The accumulated figures for the first quarter of 2020 show the arrival of 665,829 tourists by air; a 14.2% decrease compared to the same previous period.

In its quarterly balance of payments report, the Central Bank estimated that in 2019 travelers spent a total of $3.976 billion dollars in the country.

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) predicts that international tourist arrivals to destinations will decrease by 20-30% in 2020, compared to 2019 figures. However, UNWTO stresses that these numbers must be interpreted with caution in light of the extremely uncertain nature of the current crisis.

Minister Revelo stressed that the recovery of the health of the tourism sector will be slow and prolonged and that the boom to which we were accustomed will not return overnight.

“It will take months and years to recover the place we were occupying before this crisis and recover the visits of 3.1 million international arrivals that we had in 2019,” she added.

However, she highlighted the resilient spirit of the tourism sector and her confidence that with the reactivation strategies, the situation will be overcome.

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El Salvador Suspends 2020 Government Investments

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16 April 2020

In order to redirect public resources due to the covid-19 outbreak, the government of El Salvador decided that investment projects will be suspended.

A letter signed by the Minister of Finance, Nelson Fuentes, and sent to the heads of state institutions, explains that the programs and projects contained in the Budget and Annual Public Investment Program Law (PAIP) are suspended.

Laprensagrafica.com reviews that the letter explains that the projects that are financed with “… resources of the General Fund (FGEN), that have not begun their execution, and in the case of those projects whose administrative processes are in an advanced stage, the corresponding managements will have to be made in order to suspend these processes, in the state that they are and to give them by finalized…”.

The article adds that “… Uncommitted resources allocated to these projects will be frozen and the Treasury will take steps to redirect them ‘towards meeting the needs and priorities arising from the emergency and other strategic budgetary needs defined by the Presidency of the Republic’.”

According to the provisions, the suspended projects may be reprogrammed to be implemented next year.

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Minister of Health “Doll” All A Sensation In Times of Coronavirus

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16 April 2020

The POP figure (dolls) of Health Minister Dr. Daniel Salas became a sensation when it appeared on social media. And it is not because Salas has taken a pill of chiquitolina (reduction pill) in the best style of the Chapulín Colorado.

The 8 centimeters (3 inches) figure is the work of artist Maikol Villalta to honor the minister and recognize his fight against covid-19.

Villalta is the owner of Maik’s Customs CR, a company dedicated to making personalized POP figures.

Maikol says the idea occurred him 12 days ago. “POP figures are characterized because the size of their heads is disproportionate to the rest of the body and I have been doing this for 5 years.

“I am not watching the news, but through social networks and acquaintances I have found out what is happening with the coronavirus and that is why I wanted to do the figure of the minister, to pay tribute to him for the work he has been doing,” said Maikol.

Villalta’s experiment is a hit. The artist shared the doll on social networks this Monday and dozens of people have already written to him to ask for information about the figures.

Maikol began his business in 2016, at first makings dolls as an extra, but when he lost his job he saw in this art the opportunity to move forward.

“At first, I made custom Lego figures, and then I realized that they sold the blank figures of POP figures to personalize them. I started searching the Internet how they could be done and I was learning little by little, I only work in this and I do it because I really like it, sometimes I work more than 12 hours a day,” he told La Teja.

Maikol commented that to give life to the POP figure of Dr. Salas, he asked on social media groups, showing his drawing.

“People were struck, but at that time only one girl asked me for it and my main objective is to give one to the minister for the work he has been doing. It is not really for profit, but it has been well accepted.

“I have seen that the work of Salas is different from that of other ministers and it has made a difference, he is a serious person and as we are given to criticize when the Government does it wrong, I thought it would be nice to give credit to those who deserve it,” he added.

The artist stressed he buys the materials to make the figures online, has a workshop for his creations and carefully studies the feathers of his subject, Dr. Salas in this case, to capture them on the doll,

“The minister does not have his eyes wide open, he has that serious look, as if he was “enjachando” (giving the evil eye) and that is like his main feature. I did not want to make the clothes very formal, the clothes are more casual and he has a banner in his hand, where he points out that it is forbidden for the virus to continue circulating,” he said.

The artist added that an official from the Ministry of Health contacted him because he wanted to give him the figure and Salas’ wife also sought him out, since she loves her husband’s doll.

“I explained to both that I want to give it to him and at this moment the only one I have available is the one I made for the client,” said Maikol. “Some people believe that I have a large quantity ready to sell,” he said.

The Salas figure is number 1,513.

Despite the sensation, Maik’s Customs CR does not have dozens of figures of the minister for sale.

In the first stage, the artist said he will only make about 20 of the figures worth ¢30,000 colones each and will use ¢20,000 to purchase material to make face shields and donate them to the Red Cross.

“We hope that the machine (to make the masks) arrives the other week. Making calculations, initially, we could donate some 90 masks to the Red Cross and later, we want to donate to the Caja because we do not know how long this pandemic can last,” he assured.

Other figures Maikol has made are of other Costa Rican characters such as Chibolo and Maikol Jordan. In addition, he recently delivered one to the Minister of Security, Michael Soto and also one of former President Luis Guillermo Solís. This young man works with Universal Music, so every time an artist comes to Costa Rica) he makes him a figure.

Although Maikol would like to make more figures, he cannot, as he currently has a waiting list of 80 orders, from customers since January, so he must respect customers who have already sought him out.

Those figures can be purchased by contacting Maikol through his Facebook page Maik’s Customs CR or Instagram (maikscostumscr).

“I manage it through social networks because many times people call me interested, but then nothing is specified, on the other hand, through social networks, one can give more follow-up to the purchase process. All deliveries are made by Correos de Costa Rica (post office) or through platforms such as Glovo, only the latter sometimes does not reach rural areas,” he said.

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New coronavirus in Costa Rica: There are 626 infected; 350 are part of 16 clusters

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16 April 2020

The Ministry of Health confirmed this Wednesday, April 15, eight new cases of covid-19 in the country, bringing the number of people infected from 618 to 626, with ages from one to 87 years.

For the second consecutive day, the increase in patients is low, a situation that the Health Minister, Daniel Salas, attributed on Tuesday to the strict measures in place for Semana Santa.

This Wednesday the fourth death caused from the new respiratory virus was reported, an 84-year-old man who also had high blood pressure Of the other three fatalities, two were older adults (both 87 years old) and one 45.

Of the patients to this day, there are 324 men and 302 women, of whom 583 are Costa Rican and 43 are foreigners.

To date, 16 patients with the new coronavirus remain hospitalized, of which 11 are in Intensive Care Units

To date, 67 people have recovered.

According to Minister Salas, of the 626 infected, 350 are grouped into 16 clusters, that is, groups of patients with more than five people.

These are family groups or work centers, which although they may be in a single geographical area, people remain in isolation in different areas.

Two of these groups of patients in call centers located in San José. In one of them, there are 48 cases and in another six.

One of these call centers, Salas said, already had a health order for not complying with capacity limits. The operating permit is suspended for 30 days, while they are exposed to a fine and criminal proceedings.

Contracted flight from China

The CCSS Executive President, Román Macaya, reported that the flight in which a large quantity of supplies and protective equipment will be brought from Shanghai, China has already been finalized.

The contract was awarded to DHL, which will be responsible for the transfer. The cost is US$1.2 million dollars, authorized by the Comptroller General.

The plane is estimated to leave China on April 22, as a series of permits are required.

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All commercial leases are exempt from VAT for April, May and June

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15 April 2020

All commercial leases are exempt from Value Added Tax (VAT) for the months of April, May and June, announced the Ministerio de Hacienda (Ministry of Finance).

The tax relief is applicable to all who pay rent for business premises, retail space, office space, a doctor, repair shop, for example.

To take advantage of the benefit, bot the lessee and lessor must be registered in the Single Tax Registry of the General Taxation Directorate, in the General Regime or the Special Agricultural Regime.

The exemption for the VAT includes leased property, real estate or good, the latter tangible or intangible, and that the expression “commercial activities” refers to all economic or profit activities in a broad sense.

For clarity, a person who leases a motorcycle to be used to make deliveries would be exempt from paying the VAT on the lease.

The exemption does not include rental of residential properties, which only pay the VAT on rents of ¢675,300 (currently) and above.

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Dictator Daniel Ortega reappears without any plan to face the Covid-19 pandemic

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15 April 2020

Article originally appeared on Today Nicaragua and is republished here with permission.

After 34 days of being absent from public and sparking speculation about his health, even rumors of his death, and his administration’s handling of the new coronavirus, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega reappeared on Wednesday in public and assured that the country is fighting “patiently” against Covid-19.

In the appearance on national radio and television networks, Ortega did not announce any measure to prevent the massive spread of the new coronavirus which makes critics think that he only gave the face to give a proof of life and encourage his militancy.

Nor did Ortega give any sign indicating that his administration will apply the recommendations of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the World Health Organization (WHO), such as the closure of borders, national quarantine, travel restrictions, closure of educational centers and universities.

He was also not interested in giving a personal example, because before sitting down to give his talk, he greeted all the officials present with a handshake, and were all seated at the usual distance. At the end, Ortega and Murillo went around the table and greeted everyone in typical proximity, including hugs and kisses.

Ortega and his administration has been strongly criticized by regional health authorities for refusing to take restrictive measures to deal with the pandemic.

Dressed in his typical black jacket over a white shirt and a blue cap with the shield of Nicaragua, the 74-year-old former guerrilla appeared on national television with his wife and vice president, Rosario Murillo, and surrounded by the officials of his cabinet, from his home and government office.

Only he spoke during the special broadcast, announced earlier in the day, all television and radio stations to broadcast unedited and without commentary.

Without referring to his absence, Ortega acknowledged that in that period that he was absent, that from March 11, when the first case of coronavirus was detected in Nicaragua, to April 15, 1,237 people have died in the country, but only one by coronavirus.

They died “from malignant tumors, diabetes, kidney disease, heart attacks, and traffic accidents,” Ortega assured.

The president, who has resisted decreeing quarantine and closing Nicaragua’s borders, while promoting marches, massive festivals, and trips to the beach, said that the pandemic has had “slow progress” in the country and that the three positive cases to date “are imported”.

After Ortega’s oration and leaving the room, Murillo spoke to the state cameras and confirmed that there are nine confirmed cases of the covid-19 in the country.

Ortega, who spoke for 25 minutes uninterrupted and without a script, looked relaxed and rested. None of the officials – nor did Ortega or Murillo – wear masks.

“In the midst of this pandemic, work has not stopped, because here if you stop working, the country dies and if the country dies, the people die. Imagine if we send the police to isolate themselves and the army to isolate themselves … the country disappears,” said Ortega.

The dictator stated that the country will face the pandemic “with limited resources”, “with great patience and discipline”, “with self-denial of health workers”, “with citizen participation”, “with much discipline”, but without concrete measures.

Daniel Ortega and his wife Rosario Murllo standing at attention during the playing of the national anthem

Ortega assured that the country has “the capacities to care for the population,” speaking of the health system. He took advantage of the issue of the pandemic, to demand changes around the world, specifically mentioning that the United Nations organization has to “change, it has to be re-founded.”

Although Telcor announced that the appearance would be at 2:00 pm, the dictator appeared more than three hours later, following his customary delays in public events.

For the last month, Ortega has been the only president absent in the face of the pandemic, while the rest of the leaders of America and the world have been at the forefront of the health crisis, adopting preventive measures suggested by the WHO, as well as economic plans to help financially to the population that has lost their jobs, informal workers and others more vulnerable, as well as companies.

During his absence, there were strong rumors about his state of health, including those who spoke that he was dead. In this Wednesday’s broadcast, many viewers were struck by the tone of the skin of his hands, which looked pale and his face apparently made-up, with a uniform base around the contour of the face.

In his address to the nation, Ortega criticized the health systems in the United States and other developed countries. “Despite being the largest economic and military power in the world in the history of mankind the United States does not have the capacity to respond to its own citizens in the great cities of the United States and the tragedy that Europe is experiencing as well”.

Ortega did not detail how many coronavirus tests have been carried out so far in the country. In fact, he gave few details on the pandemic in the country and his administration’s actions and results, to the contrary he spoke on the need to keep the religious faith, that what the world needs more of is medicines and doctors and less armament.

“Are they going to end the virus with atomic weapons? With the rockets that are being developed now in these arms races to conquer space and turn space into a war field to kill, for death. What are those weapons for? Those weapons are not for life, they are not for health, they are not for the food of millions of human beings who perish year after year from hunger, these weapons are for killing and thousands of dollars are invested. billions and those who invest billions of billions know perfectly well that these weapons cannot be used because the day they are used the entire population of the planet disappears, they know perfectly well, so why this madness of investing billions, billions of billions in armament ”, he pointed out.

“Okay, an army to protect the sovereignty of the country and the territorial and security of the country. The police are fine, it’s fine. But now those transnational forces that are just looking for the dominance of the entire planet, that is a sin,” he said.

“God is telling us, He is sending us this sign. And that is the opportunity to make a change towards peace, ” he stressed.

Nicaragua “has the fewest number of cases in the Central American region because we have built many hospitals and we have trained medical personnel,” he pointed out.

The director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Carissa Etienne, said a few days ago that she was concerned that Nicaragua had refused to act to control the spread, which increased the risk of a pandemic.

Epidemiological experts affirm that in Nicaragua there is “underreporting” because the health authorities are not conducting enough tests to detect the presence of the virus.

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Coronavirus in Costa Rica: What is herd immunity and why is it said that we will all be exposed to covid-19?

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15 April 2020

At some point, all or a large majority of people will have been exposed to the SARS-CoV-2 caused by covid-19. Although the statement is cause for fear or alarm for many, it does not necessarily mean that the entire population will become ill from the new coronavirus.

However, the natural course of this exposure and the eventual contagions that occur over time will lead the population to achieve the so-called herd immunity (rebaño in Spanish), which would become a shield for the most susceptible, as is the case with vaccines that currently protect us from diseases such as measles or whooping cough.

“Many people believe that it is a bad thing, herd immunity is a natural condition for the circulation of a virus within a community,” explains the former Minister of Health, pediatrician and infectious expert, María Luisa Ávila.

Basically, it consists in that a group of people who are already getting sick in the country (626 confirmed cases of this Wednesday) begin to make herd protection for those around them.

“The fact that we are all going to be exposed is because this is a new virus, for which no one had defenses because it was not known in humanity (…) does not mean that we will all get sick, the vast majority will have a subclinical infection that will have no symptoms or that the symptoms will be extremely mild.

“I exposed myself, developed a mild infection or did not develop an infection, but I can raise antibodies so that next time I have a reserve with which to defend myself,” says the specialist.

How is it that the infected will end up protecting those who are susceptible?

At first, the virus will circulate widely because the entire population has no defenses (it is a new, highly contagious virus and there are no vaccines).

People will affect others who are susceptible. It is estimated that for each confirmed case there are five people who were exposed and those five, although they have not developed the disease or have been asymptomatic, have already created their own defenses.

At a certain time, the number of people who developed defenses will interrupt the transmission of the virus, since with more people immunized, circulation will be hindered, making those who are still susceptible (because they have not been exposed or have not developed defenses) now they will be protected from disease.

With SARS CoV-2 the big difference is that there is no vaccine and according to the latest pronouncement of the World Health Organization (WHO), it would not arrive before 18 months.

Why isn’t betting on this type of “natural protection” for Costa Rica a short-term alternative?

The first explanation is the mentioned deadline for the vaccine.

Furthermore, as the executive president of the Costa Rican Social Security Fund, Román Macaya, has repeated almost daily in press conferences, there is no health system in the world that can resist an exponential increase in serious cases of covid-19.

That warning includes Costa Rica, and it means that, as current Health Minister Dr. Daniel Salas said this Monday, if “we let people do what they want”, seeking to accelerate that herd immunity, we would face scenarios dramatic as seen so far in countries like Italy, Spain and some states in the United States.

“Herd immunity is not a strategy, it is a consequence of an expanded circulation of the virus, that will happen sooner or later throughout the world.

“What some countries have done is ‘let this continue, spontaneously, that those who are going to get sick get sick’ (…) the problem of that is that what happens in Italy, France or Spain can happen, in where people who become infected, most of them will have very slight symptoms, but there will be in that percentage —which will be very large in a very short time—, serious people who will take respiratory care in a unit intensive care or intermediate care and that is what we fear,”,Salas explained.

Avila added that for now, it is about buying time, as much as possible.

According to the infectologist, to achieve this it is necessary for people to get sick slowly and that is why most of the restriction measures applied so far have been based.

“We would have to live in a bubble where we don’t go out until there is a vaccine so we don’t expose ourselves because no matter how careful you are, there will always be an exhibition.

“The measures tend to reduce that risk, so that people become ill in an orderly manner so that health systems do not collapse (…) the measures try to save lives,” adds Ávila.

Furthermore, until now there is no guarantee on the intensity with which the virus will affect one or another group of people.

Despite the fact that at the beginning there was talk that the main risk was for seniors, in the country, as in the rest of the world, each time the age ranges of those who suffer complications are expanding.

If betting on a herd immunity boost is not a possible way out, what can we expect?

The current Minister of Health, Dr. Daniel Salas has also referred to this on several occasions.

For now, strategies are being studied so that some of the activities that have been most affected may gradually resume their operation.

Among those mentioned by Dr. Salas is, precisely, the performance of seroprevalence studies, which would determine the presence of antibodies against this virus in different population groups.

However, there is no magic number of infections to determine when that could happen, and there is no deadline by which the famous immunity could be considered to have been achieved.

Again, most of those variables depend on people’s behavior.

What is herd immunity?

According to Johns Hopkins, when most of a population is immune to an infectious disease, this provides indirect protection—or herd immunity (also called herd protection)—to those who are not immune to the disease.

For example, if 80% of a population is immune to a virus, four out of every five people who encounter someone with the disease won’t get sick (and won’t spread the disease any further). In this way, the spread of infectious diseases is kept under control. Depending on how contagious infection is, usually, 70% to 90% of a population needs immunity to achieve herd immunity.

What will it take to achieve herd immunity with SARS-CoV-2?

In their article published April 10, 2020, Gypsyamber D’Souza, a professor and David Dowdy an associate professor in Epidemiology at the Bloomberg School, explain that with any other infection, there are two ways to achieve herd immunity: A large proportion of the population either gets infected or gets a protective vaccine.

Based on early estimates of this virus’s infectiousness, we will likely need at least 70% of the population to be immune to have herd protection.

Why is getting infected with SARS-CoV-2 to “get it over with” not a good idea?

D’Souza and Dowdy explain that with some other diseases, such as chickenpox before the varicella vaccine was developed, people sometimes exposed themselves intentionally as a way of achieving immunity. For less severe diseases, this approach might be reasonable. But the situation for SARS-CoV-2 is very different: COVID-19 carries a much higher risk of severe disease and even death.

Why is getting infected with SARS-CoV-2 to “get it over with” not a good idea?

With some other diseases, such as chickenpox before the varicella vaccine was developed, people sometimes exposed themselves intentionally as a way of achieving immunity. For less severe diseases, this approach might be reasonable.

But the situation for SARS-CoV-2 is very different: COVID-19 carries a much higher risk of severe disease and even death.

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Is McDonald’s In Latin America In Trouble? Fitch Downgrades Arcos Dorados to ‘BB’; Outlook Revised to Negative

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15 April 2020

Fitch Ratings has downgraded Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc.’s, McDonald’s largest franchisee in the world in terms of systemwide sales and number of restaurants, Long-Term Foreign Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) and senior unsecured notes to ‘BB’ from ‘BB+’. The Rating Outlook has been revised to Negative from Stable.

Fitch Ratings says it expects the performance of the company to be affected by disruption from the coronavirus pandemic due to the temporary closures of restaurants in several countries.

Currently, Fitch estimates that 38% of the company’s restaurants have been temporarily closed, only drive-through service and delivery are being offered in another 38% of Arcos stores, and full-service operation (although with restricted hours in some locations) continues in only 24% of its stores.

Fitch’s downgrade incorporates the expectation that restrictions will continue to affect dine-in services through May 2020, across many regions with self-imposed and mandated restrictions being gradually relaxed thereafter. Revenue growth is forecast to decline 20% year-on-year in 2020, taking into account business disruption and currency impact, with a gradual recovery in 2021.

Arcos Dorados is headquartered in Argentina, but its cash flow generation is heavily concentrated in Brazil. The company has the exclusive right to own, operate and grant franchises for McDonald’s restaurants in 20 Latin American and Caribbean countries, including Argentina, Aruba, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Curaçao, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, St. Croix, St. Thomas, Trinidad & Tobago, Uruguay, and Venezuela. The company operates or franchises 2,293 McDonald’s restaurants and 258 McCafes as of year-end 2019.

Arcos Dorados is one of the largest employers in Latin America with 94,000 employees. For most of its employees, Arcos Dorados is their first employer, with formal pay, benefits and training. The company is consistently ranked as one of the best places to work in Latin America.

Arcos Dorados benefits from the iconic McDonald’s brand but faces various regional economic challenges. About 69% of these restaurants are operated by Arcos Dorados, while the remainder are franchised restaurants.

McDonald’s Franchise Strength: The ratings also incorporate the strength of McDonald’s as a franchisor and the longstanding relationship with Arcos Dorados’ owners and management. The master franchise agreement (MFA) sets strategic, commercial and financial guidelines for Arcos Dorados’ operations, which support the operating and financial stability of the business and the underlying value of the McDonald’s brand in the region. Fitch expects McDonald’s to continue to be supportive of Arcos Dorados’ operations, as in the past.

Arcos Dorados in Costa Rica currently has more than 50 points of sale, including restaurants, dessert centers and McCafé throughout the country. The company employs about 1,600 people. McDonald’s has been operating in the country since 1970.

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Fourth death by covid-19 in Costa Rica: 84-year-old man dies in San Juan de Dios Hospital

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15 April 2020