After canceling the Phase 3 reopening of businesses this past weekend due to the important increase in cases of Covid-19. The Minister of Health, Daniel Salas, stated during the press conference this Monday that the reopening is tentatively scheduled for the upcoming weekend and that at the same time the use of face masks will be mandatory in some services and commerce. The legal instruction an...

Costa Rica registered the highest number of new cases this Friday with 119 new cases. This situation forced the government to cancel the reopening of commerce that was planned for this weekend. “This puts us in a high risk of heading to an exponential curve, here we all have been doing our share to protect the health (of the population), to give the opportunity to people that can get seriously ...

UPDATED 06/19/20 The Costa Rican Government has SUSPENDED Phase 3 of the Economic reopening due to major spike in cases. The Ministry of Health confirmed this Thursday that as scheduled more businesses will be able to open doors again during the weekend as long as they comply with the sanitary guidelines given in each case. The country enters the third phase of reopening commerce which will...

Starting this month, SYKES will offer 450 permanent technical support positions to applicants with advanced, intermediate, or basic knowledge of Cisco networks, operating systems, and programming. The company will be hiring from June through September. During the health crisis due to COVID-19, most positions will be work from home. In addition to technological knowledge, applicants must demonst...

Coursera, an online education platform, will team up with Costa Rica over the next 6 months to train 50,000 people in the strategic and technical skills required for Industry 4.0. This initiative is one part of a reskilling and retooling strategy that Costa Rica currently has underway, which defines three main areas for talent development: career management, soft skills, and technical skills. T...

The Costa Rican Government announced that as of this August 1st, digital trans-border services will be charged 13% as corresponds for the value added tax (VAT). The same rule will apply to the purchase of intangible goods by final consumers of VAT contributors to a provider that is located out of Costa Rica and for use or consumption in this country. Digital trans-border services encompass ...

On June 13, 2020, Costa Rica registered 50 new cases of Covid-19 for a total of 1,662 confirmed cases with ages ranging from 0 to 92 and involving 762 women and 900 men; 1247 patients are Costa Rican and 415 are foreigners. 743 of these patients have already recovered while 19 people remain hospitalized, 3 of them in the intensive care unit. 22,144 people have tested negative. The coun...

AR Holdings, member of Promerica Group had already announced in November 2019 their intentions of bringing to Costa Rica the Olive Garden restaurant franchise, the biggest Italian food chain in the United States where it has 850 locations. Despite the Covid-19 pandemic which has impacted many industries, one of them being restaurants, the plans continue except that instead of opening doors in ...

The Ministry of Health in Costa Rica confirmed 77 new Covid-19 cases through this Thursday, June 11, 2020, bringing the total to 1,538 registered cases with ages ranging from 0 to 92 years of age. In total 710 women and 828 men have tested positive, 1,150 are Costa Rican and 388 are foreigners out of the registered 1,538 cases. A large “cluster” of cases are located in the northern zone of C...

During the daily press conference carried out by the health authorities in Costa Rica this Wednesday, June 10, they confirmed 86 new cases of Covid-19 in the country, this is the highest number registered since the virus reached the country. This brings the total number of Covid-19 positive cases to 1,461, out of which 722 are already recovered and 12 have died. 1,146 are Costa Rican citizens w...

The Ministry of Health of Costa Rica confirmed the 12th death in the country of a Covid-19 positive patient. The deceased is a 64-year-old woman resident of San Jose, who had been hospitalized for 70 days and remained in the Intensive Care Unit of the Hospital Mexico in La Uruca. The woman had several underlying conditions that made her a vulnerable patient, she had high blood pressure, diab...

The Ministry of Health in Costa Rica announced the evening of this Monday, June 8th death number 11 related to Covid-19. This time the deceased was a 26-year-old woman, Costa Rican and resident of Alajuela, who apparently did not present any symptoms and whose only risk factor was being asthmatic. The diagnose of Covid-19 was made postmortem. According to the information provided by the Mini...

Canada Ambassador to Costa Rica, Honduras and Nicaragua, James K. Hill slipped and fell of a 13 ft. cliff while hiking through the trails at a tourist center in Rio Cuarto, Alajuela, Costa Rica. The accident occurred at approximately 10:50 a.m. the morning of this Sunday, June 7. Hill was reported stable, however, according to the information provided by the Fire Department’s rescue team, he...

The Ministry of Health registered 55 new cases of Covid-19 in Costa Rica this Sunday June 7th. This brings the total to 1,318 confirmed cases: 613 women and 705 men. 1021 are Costa Rican while 297 are foreigners. Out of the 1,318 cases, 704 people have already recovered. The number of deaths related to the virus remains at 10. There are currently 20 people hospitalized, 4 of them in intensiv...

It has been three months since Costa Rica confirmed the first case of Covid-19 in the country and through June 6th it has registered 1,263 positive cases of coronavirus. The number is made up of 592 women and 671 men out of which 991 are Costa Rican and 272 are foreigners. By age the virus has reached 1,072 adults, 62 senior citizens and 129 minors. Out of the 1,263 cases, 701 have alread...

Costa Rica is listed as one of 13 Best Gay Friendly Countries to Move to, according to International Living. “The same attributes that make a place attractive to any prospective expat—things like warm weather, a low cost of living, natural beauty, sound healthcare, and plenty to do—these come into important play, no matter what. But in this report, we consider a selection of our top-recommended...

PriceSmart announced that it plans to move forward with opening what will be its 46th warehouse club on June 17, 2020 in Liberia, Costa Rica. Sherry S. Bahrambeygui, Chief Executive Officer, commented, "In March 2020, when we first began to appreciate the uncertainties created by the COVID-19 pandemic, we temporarily suspended significant capital expenditures, including additional club developm...

The National Emergency Commission (CNE) in Costa Rica prepares for the effects of the hurricane season while also dealing with the threat of the Covid-19 pandemic. The president of the National Commission for Risk Prevention, Alexander Solis, announced that new guidelines were created for the administration of temporary shelters with the idea of protecting collaborators that handle emergencies ...

Costa Rica registered 52 new cases of Covid-19 for a total 1,157 confirmed cases; this includes 542 women and 615 men; 913 Costa Rican and 244 foreigners. The youngest patient is a 5-day-old premature baby while the oldest patient is an 89 year-old man. 685 patients have already recovered. The number of deaths remains at 10. 21 people are hospitalized, 5 of them in the intensive care unit...

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” Aristotle’s words are an example of a beacon that Costa Rica has followed for a long time: work in pursuit of excellence. A sample of that was a major milestone in the history of Costa Rica’s foreign direct investment (FDI) when INTEL set up its operations in the country in 1996. This opened a broad successful path refle...

Monday, June 1st, Costa Rica enters phase three of its sanitary measures, these will be in place through June 19 and will apply for the entire country. More businesses will be allowed to operate, especially on the weekends For now, the daily and nightly vehicular transit restrictions remain the same for weekdays and weekends based upon license plate numbers. Hotels and lodging facilities in ...

The Ministry of Health in Costa Rica provided the daily update this Saturday, May 30 of Covid-19 cases, confirming 1,047 cases in the country, out of which 658 have already recovered, and 379 remain active. The country registers at this point 10 deaths, while 17,686 people have tested negative for the virus. 15 people remain hospitalized and 4 of them in the intensive care unit. Costa Rica’s...

(Photo: Archive) Back on May 16 the Costa Rican Government announced its decision to limit the entry of foreign cargo drivers to the country with the purpose of preventing borders from eventually becoming an area of transmission of Covid-19. Before this Presidential decree Costa Rica was testing all cargo drivers for Covid-19 before entering the country, situation that was causing delays with ...

This Tuesday, May 27 Costa Rica registered 28 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 for a total of 984 patients, 461 women and 523 men out of which 804 are Costa Rica and 180 are foreigners. Out of the 28 new cases reported today, 18 were already in preventive isolation due to a sanitary order. 21 are national citizens and 7 are foreigners. 639 people have successfully recovered and currently 12 pe...

Two women will be the first same sex couple to get married in Costa Rica on May 26 when it will be finally legal in the country. The wedding will be broadcasted live by Trece Costa Rica Televisión (Channel 13) and also through social media. According to Gia Miranda, executive director of the campaign Sí Acepto Costa Rica (I Do Costa Rica), the original idea was to have a big celebration, how...

The Ministry of Health in Costa Rica reminded citizens that if you have a hotel reservation for hotels that are now authorized to operate, which are hotels with a maximum of 20 rooms, you will not get fined for circulating on the day if you have a vehicle restriction. Having proof of the valid reservation handy is enough for the transit police to make the exemption, as long as you are circulati...

The Ministry of Public Works and Transportation (MOPT) informed that the owners of cars which plates end on 5 or 6 will have an additional month to comply with the technical inspection (RITEVE). This resolution was already signed by Minister Rodolfo Méndez Mata, who explained that it is part of the measures adopted by MOPT and the Costa Rican Road Safety Council (COSEVI) to normalize the assist...

As of Saturday May 24th Costa Rica registered 918 confirmed cases of Covid-19. This number includes 425 women and 493 men, out of which 757 are Costa Rican and 161 are foreigners. 607 people are already recovered, and 15,093 have been tested and discarded. 15 patients remain hospitalized out of them, 4 are in intensive care including a 27-year-old. The Minister of Health, Daniel Salas, expla...

President of Costa Rica, Carlos Alvarado, signed the Law that now declares December 1st as a National Holiday in commemoration of the Abolition of the Army in the country. This modifies Article 148 of the Labor Code, making December 1st an unpaid legal holiday, replacing October 12th (Columbus Day or Cultures’ Day). October 12 would only remain as an unpaid holiday for the central county of...

The Swiss-based Pharmaceutical company Roche –a leader in personalized healthcare and the world’s largest biotech company– announced today that it will double the size of its Roche Services & Solutions operations for the Americas, located in San José, Costa Rica. The company will hire 370 new employees throughout 2020 and will have over 700 employees by the end of this year. Roche establish...

AERIS Holdings, administrator of the Juan Santamaria International Airport in Costa Rica released the following updated information regarding the operation of the different airlines in the country under the current pandemic Covid-19: AEROMEXICO: operations suspended until further notice. AIR CANADA: will resume operations in July. AIR FRANCE: operations suspended until further notice. AIR PA...

The United States Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, expressed during a press conference this Wednesday, his concern about the situation of Covid-19 in Nicaragua and particularly how this country has chosen to handle the pandemic. “ (regarding Nicaragua) We’re concerned about numerous credible reports of hospitals filling up and bodies being buried under cover of night, pointing to a much more se...

Through May 20, Costa Rica registers 15 new cases of Covid-19 for a total 897 confirmed cases, involving 414 women and 483 men. However, 582 of these patients are already recovered. On Monday the number of new cases informed by the Ministry of Health was of 16. “We had an important curve that began mid-March, we applied the sanitary measures and people began to understand the importance of soci...

Back on 2018 the Constitution Court in Costa Rica had pronounced itself on same sex marriage in the country and domestic partnership between same sex couples declaring unconstitutional the articles that forbidden same sex marriage, the Court also adhered to the advisory opinion of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights which stated that same sex couples should be recognized and guaranteed. Th...

Costa Rica will become the 38th member state of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD); the formal accession agreement will be signed in the upcoming days. “We are delighted to welcome Costa Rica to the OECD family at a time when multilateralism is more important than ever,” the group’s secretary-general, Angel Gurria, said in a statement. Costa Rica will be the firs...

Costa Rica has now registered 10 deaths due to Covid-19 Coronavirus, the tenth victim was a 73-year-old male who in addition to his age had high blood pressure and an aortic valve cardiopathy. The patient was diagnosed back on April 25 and had remained hospitalized since that date. In total 9 men and 1 woman that have been diagnosed with Covid-19 have passed away with ages ranging from 45 to 87...

Through Friday, May 15, Costa Rica registered 13 new cases of Covid-19 for a total 843 confirmed cases, this number made up of by 384 women and 459 men, 712 Costa Rican and 131 foreigners. 542 people are already recovered and 12,260 have tested negative. On Friday May 15th the country registered the ninth death of a Covid-19 positive patient. This time the deceased is 58-year-old women who was...

A 75-year-old man that had tested positive for Covid-19 back on April 8th is the eighth registered death in the country due to Covid-19. The man was hospitalized on April 8th and was transferred to intensive care on April 14th, he had tested negative for the virus on May 7th but unfortunately died on May 13th. The Ministry of Health confirmed that in addition to his advanced age, had high blood...

As of May 11 Costa Rica has a total of 801 confirmed cases of Coronavirus, 277 of them are still active, 517 recovered, and 7 deceased. As the government continues to implement sanitary measures to prevent an uncontrolled global outbreak, it also announced changes for the sanitary restrictions that are in place. The Government of Costa Rica has announced the plan to gradually re-engage  economi...

The Ministry of Health in Costa Rica confirmed the death of another patient that had tested positive for Covid-19. This is the seventh death registered in the country. In this case the deceased is an 80 year old man who was hospitalized at the Enrique Baltodano Hospital in Liberia, Guanacaste on May 9th. The man was a foreigner who lived in Alajuela, he had underlying health conditions such as ...