Back in July, experts shared some scary numbers regarding the number of covid cases we could expect to see in the coming months. They assumed a 60-65% compliance with social distancing.
They frightened us by saying we might have 35,000 patients by September 5. Even more horrifying is the fact that we have already passed this number of patients and it’s only August 26.
As of the 25th of August, there have been 35,035 confirmed cases. The Center for Research in Pure and Applied Mathematics (CIMPA) of the School of Mathematics of the University of Costa Rica (UCR) estimated 30,400 infections by this date.
Thousands of additional people and their families have been affected by a positive result. This shows that we are not adequately caring for ourselves and others. The compliance with safety measures has not been great enough.
Taking into account the opening and closing phases, CIMPA estimated 40,000 cases on September 30. Now we worry there will be many more.
The medical manager of the CCSS pointed out that if someone must go to work, they should do so while protecting themselves, because going to work is necessary, but no one should go to parties or events, as these generate no economic value and many unnecessary covid cases.
The CCSS has made extraordinary efforts to generate beds, especially ICU beds. When covid entered the country, on March 6, there were 24 ICU beds. This has been increasing and will be 1,000% more, at a 287 maximum capacity. Currently, 55% of all ICU beds are occupied by a covid patient.
Projections give us hope that from around mid-September on, we should start to see a drop in the number of hospitalizations.
