August COVID-19 Measures
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]On Wednesday, July 29, 2020, the Costa Rican government announced the following measures to control the spread of COVID-19 for the month of August, aiming to flatten the contagion curve of COVID-19 in the country.
On Wednesday, July 29, 2020, the Costa Rican government announced the following measures to control the spread of COVID-19 for the month of August, aiming to flatten the contagion curve of COVID-19 in the country. Cantons on yellow alert will continue with phase three of reopening. Cantons on orange alert will open and close in three phases throughout the month.
Open Phases
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From August 1st to 9th (9 days) and From August 22nd to 30th (9 days).
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Opening of establishments with sanitary permission to operate to the public in cantons on orange alert and cantons on yellow alert, subject to vehicle restriction hours.
Closed Phase
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From August 10th to 21st (12 days).
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Total closure of establishments with sanitary permission to operate to the public in cantons on orange alert, except for the list of exceptions.
Alert Level by Canton
We recommend you check the type of alert established by the health and emergency authorities in your canton or district on the government COVID-19 alert website, as they are likely to change throughout the month.
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Click on “Alerta por cantón.”
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Then select the province you live in.
Vehicular Restrictions
Yellow alert zones will have the current vehicle restrictions continue.
Driving will be restricted in orange alert zones matching the above-mentioned phases.
Public Transport
Public transport (taxis and buses) will operate normally, with the following provisions:
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All passengers on buses must be seated, standing capacity is not allowed.
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Use of masks is mandatory inside buses and at bus stops
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Use of masks is in taxis.
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Special transport of workers and tourists is authorized according to the regulation of the Public Transport Council (CTP).
Long-distance bus routes will operate normally.
Establishments Enabled in Yellow Alert & Orange Alert (Open Phases)
Establishments in orange alert areas, from August 1st to the 9th and from August 22nd to the 30th of August, and establishments in yellow alert areas, with sanitary permission, will be able to open regularly and continue phase III of reopening from Monday to Sunday (restaurants, shops, and gyms at 50%, places of worship with a maximum of 75 people, farmers’ market, among others), with strict compliance with protocols.
The hotels will be able to operate with a capacity of 100%, with common areas at 50%.
The opening of bars, discotheques, casinos, and public parks is not yet enabled.
A. May operate from Monday to Sunday without time restriction:
1. Delivery services.
2. Rent-a-car vehicle rental.
3. Bicycle rental.
4. Suppliers of fuel and related supplies.
5. Community waste collection services.
6. Public and private health facilities (clinics, pharmacies, hospitals, laboratories, doctor’s offices, radiodiagnostic services, emergency services, opticians, macrobiotics, among others), veterinary clinics and drug stores.
7. Health services in mobile units complying with the provisions of Executive Decree No. 41045-S.
8. Public, private or mixed daycare centers supervised by the CAI or the MEP.
9. Care centers for people in vulnerable and dependent conditions.
10. Private or public parking.
11. Couriers.
12. Short-stay accommodation activities (motels).
13. Hotels, cabins or accommodation establishments.
14. The sale of lotteries and random products duly authorized by the Social Protection Board.
15. Public institutions in general and municipalities.
B. May operate from Monday to Sunday without time restriction, without public and behind closed doors, with the minimum personnel required:
1. Closed-door activities at theaters (including the National Theater and the Melico Salazar Popular Theater), churches, municipalities with their municipal council sessions, district councils, meeting of commissions and other municipal meetings, as well as any other closed space for the development of virtual transmissions, with strict compliance with the preventive protocols and guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health, and with the minimum personnel required.
2. Professional and semi-professional contact sports without spectators.
C. May operate from Monday to Sunday without time restriction with an occupancy capacity of 50%:
1. Farmers’ markets.
2. Markets, supermarkets, mini-supermarkets, grocery stores, bakeries, butchers, greengrocers and the like.
3. Sale of agricultural, livestock, aquaculture, fishing and florist products.
4. Sale of agricultural, veterinary and animal feed supplies.
5. Sale of hygiene supplies.
6. Laundries.
7. Sale of spare parts, parts, and accessories for: vehicles, engines in general, bicycles, agricultural equipment, machinery and heavy and industrial equipment.
8. Hardware stores and sales of construction materials.
9. Locksmiths.
10. Glass shops
11. Repair of vehicles, engines in general, motorcycles, tires, cycles and workshops of bicycles, agricultural equipment, machinery and heavy and industrial equipment.
12. Oil change service to vehicles (Lubricant Centers).
13. Car washing services (Lavacar).
14. Technical Vehicle Review (RTV).
15. Beauty salons, barbershops and aestheticians.
16. Grooming salons for pets.
17. Platforms for customer service of public and municipal institutions.
18. Public or private banking and financial services, in financial or non-financial entities.
19. Call centers.
20. Funeral homes and/or wake chapels.
21. National parks according to the list published by MINAE.
22. Animal theme parks, botanical parks or marine parks that do not imply access to beaches or spas.
23. Swimming pools, restaurants, gymnasiums of hotels, cabins or accommodation establishments.
24. Pool centers with hot springs.
25. All other establishments with sanitary operating permits that do not provide care to the public in person.
D. May operate at varying hours depending on the alert area:
Yellow Alert Areas: May operate from Monday to Friday from 5:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., and from Saturday to Sunday from 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., with different capacity.
Orange Alert Areas, during open phases: May operate from Monday to Sunday from 5:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with different capacity.
1. Drive-through and take-out restaurants.
2. Cinemas and theaters with compulsory use of a mask or mask, with seating separation measures of at least 1.8 meters, respecting social bubbles and with ticket office or electronic reservation.
3. Drive-in theaters.
4. Activities, organizations or congregations are enabled in places of worship with mandatory use of a mask or mask, with a maximum capacity of 75 people, this number of people does not include the staff of the place (which must be the minimum), with distance measures of 1.8 meters respecting the social bubbles.
5. Event rooms for activities of maximum 30 people (with measures of separation of seats of minimum 1.8 meters, respecting social bubbles and with lists of attendees with ID number and contact number). The 30 people must include the logistics staff of the event and guests.
6. Adventure tourism, with the mandatory use of a mask while safety equipment is placed and removed to carry out the activity, and respecting social bubbles.
E. May operate at varying hours depending on the alert area:
Yellow Alert Areas: May operate from Monday to Friday from 5:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., and from Saturday to Sunday from 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., with a capacity of 50%.
Orange Alert Areas, during open phases: May operate from Monday to Sunday from 5:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. with a capacity of 50%.
1. Retail sale of new and used motor vehicles.
2. Sports and sports facilities, for the practice of sports and recreational activities without physical or direct contact.
3. Establishments for practicing or training sports without contact.
4. Gyms with appointment scheduling and different hours for people with risk factors.
5. Swimming schools.
6. Driving schools.
7. Restaurants (businesses with a Bar and Restaurant patent will only be allowed to operate the restaurant area with an alcoholic beverage dispenser as long as they have an occupancy capacity of fifty percent (50%)).
8. Sodas and Cafeterias.
9. Food places (food trucks, food courts).
10. Stores in general.
11. Department stores.
12. Shopping centers.
13. Museums (with ticket office or electronic reservation).
14. Academies of art and dance without physical contact.
15. Shooting ranges.
16. Activities of agents dedicated to the sale of live animals (livestock auctions).
F. Access to beaches and lakes is enabled from Monday to Sunday from 5:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. in orange alert cantons and from 5:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in yellow alert cantons, with distance measures of 1.8 meters respecting the social bubbles. This access includes contactless sports activities, prior approval of protocols by the ICT with each municipality.
From August 10th to 21st, there will be a total closure of establishments with sanitary permission to operate public services in cantons on orange alert, except for the following exceptions:
1. Delivery services.
2. Drive-through and take-out restaurants.
3. Public institutions in general and municipalities.
4. Platforms for customer service of public and municipal institutions, with an occupancy capacity of fifty percent (50%).
5. Costa Rican Post Offices for the reception and delivery of parcels, with a capacity of fifty percent (50%).
6. Courier branches and parcel shipments, with a capacity of fifty percent (50%).
7. Public and private health facilities (clinics, pharmacies, hospitals, laboratories, doctor’s offices, radiodiagnostic services, emergency services, opticians, macrobiotics, among others), veterinary clinics and drug stores.
8. Health services in mobile units complying with the provisions of Executive Decree No. 41045-S.
9. Community waste collection services.
10. Supermarkets, suppliers, grocery stores and mini-supermarkets, only those corresponding to the section for the sale of food, beverages, groceries, cleaning and hygiene supplies, and basic necessities, with an occupancy capacity of fifty percent (50%).
11. Bakeries, butchers and greengrocers, with an occupancy capacity of fifty percent (50%).
12. Farmer’s markets, with an occupancy capacity of fifty percent (50%), with strict protocols and a differentiated strip for older adults from 5:00 a.m. to 8:30 a.m.
13. Establishments for the sale of agricultural, veterinary, and animal feed supplies, with an occupancy capacity of fifty percent (50%).
14. Establishments where there is commercialization of agricultural products, livestock, fishing and aquaculture, florists, markets, with an occupation capacity of fifty percent (50%).
15. Hardware stores and sales of construction materials, with an occupancy capacity of fifty percent (50%).
16. Locksmiths, with an occupation capacity of fifty percent (50%).
17. Glass shops, with an occupancy capacity of fifty percent (50%).
18. Rent-a-car vehicle rental.
19. Technical Vehicle Review (RTV), with an occupancy capacity of fifty percent (50%).
20. Repair of vehicles, engines in general, motorcycles, tires, cycles and bicycle workshops, agricultural equipment, machinery and heavy and industrial equipment, with an occupancy capacity of fifty percent (50%).
21. Oil change service to vehicles (Lubricentros), with an occupancy capacity of fifty percent (50%).
22. Sale of spare parts, parts, pieces and accessories for vehicles, engines in general, bicycles, agricultural equipment, machinery and heavy and industrial equipment, with an occupancy capacity of fifty percent (50%).
23. Car washing services (Lavacar).
24. Sellers of fuel and related supplies.
25. Hygiene supply establishments, with an occupancy capacity of fifty percent (50%).
26. Laundries, with an occupation capacity of fifty percent (50%).
27. Public or private banking and financial services, in financial or non-financial entities, with an occupation capacity of fifty percent (50%).
28. The sale of lotteries and random products duly authorized by the Social Protection Board.
29. Funeral homes and / or veiling chapels, with an occupancy capacity of fifty percent (50%).
30. Public, private or mixed nurseries supervised by the CAI or the MEP.
31. Public and private care centers for people in vulnerable and dependent conditions.
32. Hotels, cabins or accommodation establishments, with an occupancy capacity of fifty percent (50%).
33. Centers with thermal water pools, with an occupancy capacity of fifty percent (50%).
34. Adventure tourism, with the mandatory use of a mask while the safety equipment is placed and removed to carry out the activity, and respecting social bubbles.
35. Beaches and lakes from Monday to Sunday from 5:00 a.m. to 09:30 a.m., with distance measures of 1.8 meters respecting social bubbles. This access includes contactless sports activities.
36. Short-stay accommodation activities (motels).
37. Public and private parking lots.
38. Closed-door activities without public in theaters (including the National Theater and the Melico Salazar Popular Theater), churches, municipalities with their municipal council sessions, district councils, committee meetings, and other municipal meetings, as well as any other space closed for the development of virtual transmissions, with strict compliance with the preventive protocols and guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health and with the minimum required personnel.
39. Activities of agents dedicated to the sale of live animals (livestock auctions), with an occupation capacity of fifty percent (50%).
40. Shooting ranges, with an occupancy capacity of fifty percent (50%).
41. Swimming schools, with an occupation capacity of fifty percent (50%).
42. National parks, according to the list published by MINAE, with an occupancy capacity of fifty percent (50%).
43. All other establishments with sanitary operating permits that do not provide attention to the face-to-face public (productive activities, industries, free zones, among others).
Establishments NOT allowed to operate throughout the country, in either orange and yellow alert cantons are as follows.
The closure of all mass concentration activities that have, or require, a sanitary authorization for its execution continues, namely:
1. Concerts.
2. Public shows.
3. Fairgrounds.
4. Bullfighting activities.
5. Parades (topes).
6. Sports events (competitive and/or recreational).
7. Public celebrations.
8. Community fairs and markets.
9. Entertainment activities in shopping centers.
10. The International Film Festival (Festival Internacional de Cine).
11. Organization of conventions and trade shows.
12. The National Arts Festival (Festival Nacional de las Artes).
The closure of all public meeting places that have their respective operating health permits is continued, including:
1. Conference centers.
2. Mélico Salazar Popular Theater (except for virtual broadcasts).
3. National Theater (except for virtual broadcasts and guided tours with groups of no more than 10 people).
4. Organization of conventions and commercial exhibitions.
5. Playgrounds, skate parks, jumping parks, inflatables and the like.
6. Amusement Parks (Parque Diversiones).
7. Parque Viva (except for motor racing without spectators and drive-in cinema)
8. Bars.
9. Discotheques.
10. Night Clubs
11. Religious activities and processions.
12. Gambling and betting activities; like casinos and bingos.
Chris August 5, 2020
Hello again… I have a question about driving restrictions. If I have a hotel booking for arrival on Saturday, am I still allowed to drive?
Also, if I am normally NOT allowed to drive on Monday, can I still check out of my hotel on Monday and drive home?
The list of exceptions wasn’t posted so I wasn’t sure.
Also, THANK YOU so much for all the information and clarity you give us on this site. As a Canadian “ex pat”, I check this site everyday for any new information.
You guys are amazing!