QCOSTARICA – The health emergency due to covid-19 once again breaks records in Costa Rica, this Wednesday the Ministry of Health reported 2,434 new infections in the last 24 hours, the new highest figure in the 14 months of the pandemic.
The country now has accumulated 245,601 cases, of which there are 40,184 active, according to the epidemiological bulletin of the Ministry of Health.
A total of 16 people died Wednesday from causes associated with Covid-19.
There are now 3,202 deaths.
Meanwhile, the hospitals of the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social (CCSS) are operating at full capacity, with 818 patients, 351 of which are in intensive care beds, aged 0 to 91 years.
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These statistics, never seen before during the pandemic in our country, keep the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) concerned, which projects a greater demand for hospital services in the coming days.
“Almost all Central American countries report an increase in infections. Hospitalizations are at their highest in Costa Rica. The country reported a 50% increase in cases in the last week,” PAHO Director Carissa Etienne declared this Wednesday.
If the current rate of infections is maintained, the country will soon face the collapse of its public hospitals, according to projections of the Central American Population Center of the University of Costa Rica (CCP-UCR) in its latest report.
The CCP-UCR indicated that the most optimistic of scenarios for a month from now is 1,800 daily cases and 1,200 hospitalized.
“These figures are more than double the installed capacity in the country, which would be exceeded on May 1,” cites the CCP report, released last Saturday.
The projected cases, however, were surpassed on Wednesday.
Given the seriousness of the situation, the Caja negotiated with the private hospitals La Católica, Bíblica, CIMA and Metropolitano, so that they can take on patients with non-covid, with the purpose of freeing up spaces in public centers and coping with this exponential increase in covid internments.
In return, the CCSS would pay minimal costs and small profit margins to the private medical centers.
