The restrictions that were announced two Fridays ago have been extended for two more weeks, you can find below the graphic for vehicle restrictions that are now in place through August 8, 2021.

The government announced on Friday, July 9, a change in the driving and capacity-limitation restrictions: only two plates will stop circulating per day starting on Monday July 12, and then on Monday July 26 we go back to alternate between odd and even license plates. Below you will find details about what changed and what stays the same.

This Friday, it was also agreed that each method will last for two weeks, the two plates that cannot circulate per day between July 12 and July 26, and finally odd and even licenses between July 26 and August 8.

• Throughout that four-week period, the nighttime vehicle restriction schedule will remain Monday through Sunday from 9 p.m. m. to 5 a. m.
• During the weekends, on Saturdays and Sundays the measure of allowing the circulation of even numbers one day and odd numbers the other will continue.
• Beaches will remain closed from 6 pm. m. to 5 a. m.

The new exception is for motor vehicles that transport students, but it will be mandatory for drivers to carry the respective receipt issued by the institution.

These measures to mitigate Covid-19 infections and hospital saturation were announced this Friday morning at a virtual meeting of the Government with different business chambers and municipalities. Further details will be disclose at a press conference today, and we will update this article accordingly.

Sanitary Vehicle Restriction Explainer Tables

Plates that do not circulate weeks from Monday, July 26 to Sunday, August 8:

• Monday: 1,2
• Tuesday: 3,4
• Wednesday: 5,6
• Thursday: 7,8
• Friday: 9,0
• Saturday 31st : even plates cannot circulate
• Sunday 1st: odd plates cannot circulate
• Saturday 7 : odd plates cannot circulate
• Sunday 8: even plates cannot circulate

Other announcements: tourist entry requirements

Starting August 1^st, 2021, children under the age of 18 and people who are fully vaccinated will be allowed to enter the country as tourists without the need of purchasing insurance. You can review the current entry requirements for Tourists and other categories here.

To be allowed to enter without the insurance, the COVID-19 vaccination record card will be mandatory.

The document must include:

• Complete name of the person.
• Date of application per every dose.
• Pharmaceutical company (Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson*).

*The Johnson & Johnson must be applied 14 days prior to arriving in Costa Rica.

This is an initial announcement. The official publication of this new guidelines shall be published soon. Once published, we will provide further information.

Other announcements: differentiated capacity

On the other hand, as of July 12, and until August 8, the capacity of some activities will be extended, as well as the operating hours of certain establishments. In order to prevent contagion by the new Delta variant of Covid-19, the differentiated capacity will be extended in bars with 25% capacity, as well as in hotels with more than 100 rooms, to 75% . Finally, national parks, except for the Poás Volcano – that had its capacity reduced already, will be able to work at 50% capacity.

Academic and business activities will go from 150 to 300 people. The same for social events rooms which may increase their capacity from 30 to 75 people. Likewise, places of worship can accommodate 100 more people, this means a maximum of 300 people.

Supermarkets, grocery stores, and liquor stores maintained their restriction schedule and should be closed from 9:00 p.m until 5:00 a.m.

These were all of the announcements for today, we will keep our Outlier community updated if anything changes. Please share this article with everyone who might need it and let us know in the comments if you have questions.