Costa Rica: Authorities extend business restrictions and ease some travel measures October 1 /update 12

Event

Costa Rican authorities have extended business restrictions until at least mid-October and eased some travel measures related to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic from Thursday, October 1. As of Thursday, those arriving from Mexico and Jamaica will be allowed to enter Costa Rica, as well as residents from the US states of California and Ohio. Residents of several other countries and US states were already permitted to enter the country. All arriving travelers must present evidence of a negative COVID-19 test result taken within 72 hours prior to arrival.

As of October 1, there have been 75,760 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Costa Rica with 904 associated fatalities. Further international spread of the virus is to be expected in the near term.

Context

The first case of COVID-19 was reported on December 31 and the source of the outbreak has been linked to a wet market in Wuhan (Hubei province, China). Since then, human-to-human transmission of the virus has been confirmed.

Cases of the virus have been confirmed in numerous countries and territories worldwide. On March 11, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the global outbreak a pandemic. Virus-screening and quarantining measures are being implemented at airports worldwide, as well as extensive travel restrictions.

The most common symptoms of COVID-19 are fever, dry cough, and tiredness. Some patients may experience other symptoms such as body pains, nasal congestion, headache, conjunctivitis, sore throat, diarrhoea, loss of taste or smell or a rash on skin or discoloration of fingers or toes. These symptoms (in most cases mild) appear gradually. Generally, most patients (around 80 percent) recover from the disease without being hospitalized.

Advice

Measures adopted by local authorities evolve quickly and are usually effective immediately. Depending on the evolution of the outbreak in other countries, authorities are likely to modify, at very short notice, the list of countries whose travelers are subject to border control measures or entry restrictions upon their arrival to the territory in question. It is advised to postpone nonessential travel due to the risk that travelers may be refused entry or be subject to quarantine upon their arrival or during their stay.

To reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission, travelers are advised to abide by the following measures: