How Costa Rica Has Managed to Beat Covid-19

By: Hector Pichardo

Costa Rica has been highlighted as one of the biggest positives surrounding the Central American Countries during this global pandemic. It is currently ranked 5th in the RSF ( Reporters Without Borders, acronym is in French) rankings climbing two spots from the previous year. The only countries ahead of it are Norway, Finland, Sweden, and Denmark.

To give a little more detail in how good Costa Rica is doing compared to the rest of the world, The United States is currently ranked 44th in the RSF rankings. It is also the only country in North and South America to be in a good situation, as seen above in the map regarding freedom of press among its citizens.

Costa Rica did remotely well in handling the pandemic in 2020, never collapsing the health factor compared to its neighboring countries. The restriction of not being able to use cars at night cut down the amount of people in large groups. Costa Rica was also one of the first countries to start vaccinating their residents. They have given over 500,000 vaccines which is over 10% of the population.

Jose Cayasso, an entrepreneur from Costa Rica whose business is based in New York, explained in his youtube channel the reason why its home country has been so successful in handling the virus. “The key here is how quickly the government responded and how seriously they took the situation from the get-go,”

It was March 9, 2020, when the 10th confirmed case of covid-19 was documented in Costa Rica. After that it did not take long for the government to ban mass gatherings and require all employees to work from home. When the first death related to covid-19 was announced the Country when into a state of emergency — Closing their borders to all tourist and canceling in person school.

Costa Rica’s public health system is also a big reason for its success during this pandemic, and deserves to be praised by other countries who should look at this example to learn from it. According to an estimate from the Pan-American Health organization, 90% of Costaricanos have medical insurance. The Costa Rican social security fund or CAJA, plays a huge role in the states national health policy making. President of the institution Roman Macaya stated early in the crisis that “We will not make a distinction if you are insured or not insured, This is an issue of national importance.”

With a population of 5 million people in the country it has definitely helped health authorities conduct contact tracing. During my interview with Juan Pablo Castro, a local civil engineer from Costa Rica, he mentioned how people in the community were very supportive and understanding with the situation that was undergoing. There were many difficulties people had to overcome but people realized how bad it was in their neighboring countries, like El Salvador or Nicaragua, and gave full support to their government decisions. Beaches and National parks were closed down as well as restrictions of not being able to use transportation at night, were some of the adjustments local residents had to get used to.

The strong institutional support that Costa Rica received was a big factor in them beating covid-19. Public Universities concentrated on developing respirators, to equip and strengthen the intensive care units in the country, and the National Learning Institute produced thousands of items of hospital clothing to deal with the pandemic. The Ministry of Labor launched an initiative to support people whose jobs have been affected by the crisis. Congress passed this legislation quickly to allow the relaxation of labor contracts to avoid layoffs, and a tax relief plan that establishes a moratorium on the payment of some tariffs. Hundreds of companies, foundations, and community organizations are distributing food and aid to those who affected by the economic slowdown, with others collaborating with the authorities in the distribution of medicines.

Costa Rica Minister of public health Daniel Salas, has done a great job of not letting the local residents get too careless. “we cannot get too comfortable, we need to be very careful and follow all the health and physical distancing regulations.”

References

Lubianco, J. (2021, April 21). Latin American countries fall in global press FREEDOM RANKING. Retrieved May 04, 2021, from https://latamjournalismreview.org/articles/latin-american-countries-fall-in-global-press-freedom-ranking/

Broom, D. (2020, May 7). This Latin American country is keeping Covid-19 firmly under control. How? Retrieved May 04, 2021, from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/05/costa-rica-winning-battle-coronavirus-covid-19/

Fernandes, A. (2021, April 28). Costa Rica Receives first batch of COVID-19 Vaccines through Covax Mechanism. Retrieved May 04, 2021, from https://www.unicef.org/lac/en/press-releases/costa-rica-receives-first-batch-of-covid-19-vaccines-through-covax-mechanism

Zúñiga, A. (2020, April 27). How has Costa Rica contained the coronavirus? -. Retrieved May 04, 2021, from https://ticotimes.net/2020/04/27/how-has-costa-rica-contained-the-coronavirus-covid-19

5 reasons Costa Rica is winning plaudits for fighting covid-19: A UN Resident Coordinator Blog | | UN NEWS. (2020, May 24). Retrieved May 04, 2021, from https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/05/1064412