As of June 24th Costa Rica has registered a total of 2,515 cases of COVID-19, out of which 1,210 patients have recovered, 30 people are still hospitalized and 5 are in the intensive care unit.

Several counties and districts remain under orange alert, particularly in the northern Costa Rica and the Paquera district, as well as in the counties of Pavas, Alajuelita and Desamparados in San José. In regions under an orange alert, most commercial businesses must close at 5pm on weekdays and remain closed on weekends. Driving restrictions are also in place in these areas from 5:00pm to 5:00am on weekdays and all day on weekends, except for trips to supermarkets and health services

The Minister of Health Daniel Salas announced earlier this week that as of June 27, all commercial workers who interact with the public will be required to wear face coverings or shields. The general public will also be required to wear facial coverings in many circumstances including on public transport, in public offices, in theaters and churches, and at restaurants, except when eating. The Ministry is expected to publish more detailed guidelines regarding these requirements as well as an update on implementing Phase III of the reopening plan in the coming days.

The Costa Rican Tourism Board (ICT) is hoping to resume tourism flights starting July 1st, however, they have been emphatic that they want to wait for an official position and decision from the health authorities before being able to make any announcement.

ICT plans to resume flights first connecting to European countries such as the UK and then Canada, following, of course, strict sanitary protocols and in a controlled and limited fashion. Will they get the “green light” is anyones guess at this point.

Airlines such as American, Delta, United, Jet Blue, Spirit, Edelweiss and Lufthansa have stated their interest and readiness to reopen services to Costa Rica.

The Government will likely offer more information during the press conference on Friday.

*News in Development*