Interesting statistics show us what the situation would look like today if Costa Rica hadn’t taken precautions against the spread of covid-19. They are brought to us by the Center for Research in Pure and Applied Mathematics and the School of Mathematics, both from UCR, the EpiEC research team, the Pan American Health Organization, and the Ministry of Health.
If the Government and citizens of Costa Rica had not taken precautions such as sanitary vehicle restrictions, closures of hotels, restaurants, classes, bars, casinos, playgrounds, beaches, and churches, the report we would have to hear would sound like this:
There are 4,628 new cases of covid-19, bringing us to a total of 79,951.We have had 800 funerals, each a regrettable death. 33,578 are recovered yet 45,563 cases are still active. 3,958 people are hospitalized including 792 in intensive care. Intensive care beds have been full since May 18. Many sick are unable to find hospital beds, so actual numbers of cases are unknown. Some who could have been saved have died because of lack of space in hospitals.
Because of the country’s quick response and timely measures to stop the spread, the virus was not allowed to follow its natural course against the population. The authorities realized the need to protect the population since we are immunologically defenseless to covid-19. The population did its part to follow the restrictions and keep the numbers much lower than if nothing had been done to combat the spread of the virus. Our hard work paid off by stopping the virus from being spread throughout entire communities.
