Costa Rica will allow international tourists from the EU, Canada and the United Kingdom, but not from the USA.

Wave of cases of covid-19 in Costa Rica 3:39

(CNN Spanish) - The government of Costa Rica announced that it will allow international travelers from the European Union, Canada and the United Kingdom from August 1, but not yet those from the United States.

Costa Rican President Carlos Alvarado and Tourism Minister Gustavo Segura said at a press conference on Thursday that the decision meant a gradual reopening of the Juan Santamaría and Daniel Oduber international airports with established security protocols.

"This means that few tourists will come per week, but it is a good step in the right direction," Segura explained.

When asked why flights from the United States are not included in the announcement, Segura admitted that the United States has traditionally been a very important market for tourism in Costa Rica, representing between 45% and 50% of visitors before of the pandemic, but your government is being cautious.

"At the moment we consider that the correct decision is to reopen with limited routes and this analysis will continue in the coming weeks," added Segura.

Much of the United States is seeing an increase in infections, and the transmission rate is much higher than in most of Europe.

Segura explained that all international travelers must present a digital health form upon arrival, show a covid-19 test with negative results performed within 48 hours prior to entering the country, and present a copy of their travel insurance. that includes covid-19 coverage.

President Alvarado said that Costa Rica needed to reopen tourism due to the economic situation, "carefully and with caution, but also with the promise of supporting the tourism sector," Alvarado added.

Costa Rica has seen a sharp increase in coronavirus cases in recent days, although the number of deaths remains low. On Thursday, it registered 768 new cases of covid-19, a record daily increase, bringing the total number of cases to 13,129, according to Health Minister Daniel Salas. The country's death toll has reached 81.

Earlier this week, the Director of Health Emergencies of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Dr. Ciro Ugarte, warned that the situation in Costa Rica was changing after initially low numbers of infections.

“We are seeing a second and rapid increase in cases in areas where there was a relaxation of social distancing. But there is also the perception that, since they had few cases, they felt safe to relax the measures, "said Ugarte.

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