Following an outbreak of a “respiratory virus,” the Costa Rican Ministry of Health declared on Monday that all schools will be closed throughout the nation in an effort to stop further transmission and relieve the strain on the Children’s Hospital.
“In the framework of the health alert for respiratory virus, the Ministry of Health orders a week of recess in the school calendar with the aim of cutting the transmission that has saturated the services of the Children’s Hospital,”
The organization explained in a statement that they will be closed from October 11 to October.
“It is important to note that during October 10, a total of 83 children were hospitalized for severe acute respiratory infections, of these, most were under 4 years of age and in ICU there were 20 children in this specialized center,”
Ministry of Health
In the Emergency Department, seven additional kids on mechanical ventilation are taking up space in various rooms. Only one of the total number of hospitalized kids fits COVID-19.