Orange alert for Covid-19 Five cantons in Costa Rica

The Council of Europe, made up of different institutions for the first response to the Covid-19 pandemic, reported that in the past week, a total of 76 cantons have recorded increases in the number of cases in their territories, ranging from 1 to 217 cases, San Jose (766), Alajuela (653) and Heredia (566) are the most common cases.

Costa Rica is showing an increase in new cases of Covid-19, linked to the fifth wave of the epidemic and, according to experts, favored by the official decision on mask use.

In the week of May 8-14, the average number of new cases of Covid-19 was 1,459, up 35 percent from the 1,779 reported in the previous similar phase.

A few hours after taking office as President of Costa Rica on the eighth of the month, Rodrigo Chavez signed three executive decrees, two of them related to the Covid-19 epidemic, one related to the use of a mask and the other to mandatory vaccination against this disease. , caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.

According to its content, the decree on immunization against Covid-19 requires the National Committee on Immunization and Epidemiology to demonstrate the scientific basis that supported public health decisions regarding their mandatory nature, and demands that they not be dismissed from their positions. Who do not wish to inject themselves against Covid-19.

Meanwhile, the mask-related mask indicates that its use is mandatory only for first-line employees of the epidemic and all citizens entering health centers. The rest will have the option to use it or not.

Commenting on this executive decree, the president of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Costa Rica, Mauricio Guardia, noted that the country is in a fifth wave of the Covid-19 virus, so the ideal thing was to wait for the behavior before making such a decision.

Demographer Luis Rosero thinks he’s wrong. I think they will probably regret it within a month when they see cases multiply by the thousands. This used to be increasing, both with and without these ordinances, but now with these ordinances, it can get even worse with these ordinances.”

jha / ale