Costa Rica received a double-whammy to its tourist business this year. First, the US Government downgraded the country from a Level 1, to a Level 2 status as a tourist destination, apparently due to an increase in crime, especially armed robbery and homicide. This represents a possible loss of some 1.4 million US tourists. Then, of course, came coronavirus COVID-19, an international buzz-kill for ...

Through April 29 Costa Rica registers 713 confirmed cases of coronavirus, 340 women and 373 men; 642 are Costa Rican while 71 foreigners. The health authorities have discarded 8,980 people, while 323 have already recovered with Six having passed away. However, the number of Covid-19 positive patients of Costa Rican nationality that have died in the United States is of 16. The number was c...

PRESS RELEASE The U.S. Embassy in San Jose and the U.S. State Department have coordinated with United Airlines to offer additional commercial repatriation flights from Juan Santamaria Airport (SJO) in San Jose, Costa Rica to Houston, Texas (IAH) on Monday May 4, Friday May 8, Monday May 11, and Friday May 15. The flights will depart SJO at 12:00 pm and arrive at IAH at 4:46 pm. This flight is o...

The Government of the United States of America made official, through the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), that Costa Rica has been removed from the list the countries over which the Office maintains surveillance regarding the protection of intellectual property rights. This is stated in the Office’s Special 301 Report, which the United States issues every year to assess re...

The Clodomiro Picado Institute of the University of Costa Rica created its first test lot with plasma on patients that have NOT had Covid-19, which helps verify its line of productions to process the plasma of Covid-19 convalescent patients. What this means is that the Institute now is completely prepared to receive the plasma from Covid-19 convalescent patients when the Social Security Service...

As of Monday, April 27 the number of positive cases of Covid-19 in Costa Rica is 697 cases, that includes 334 women and 363 men, out of which 628 are Costa Rican and 69 are foreigners. 8,305 people have been discarded. The number of deaths in the country remains at 6. 16 people remain hospitalized 8 of them in intensive care with ages ranging between 45 and 87 years. The government also announ...

The Ministry of Health registered 686 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Costa Rica, the number includes 328 woman and 358 men, 619 are Costa Rican and 67 are foreigners, by age, 617 are adults, 35 are senior adults and 34 are minors. 8,032 people have tested negative, 196 are registered as recovered and 6 people have passed away. 13 patients remain hospitalized out of which 8 remain in intensive c...

Currently, countries around the world are competing to acquire reagents and laboratory kits to diagnose the virus that causes the COVID-19 disease. Faced with this scenario, public institutions, private companies, and the United Nations have undertaken to validate an alternative protocol to identify the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus (Covid-19). The study carried out in Costa Rica seeks to ad...

In an effort to combat the repercussions generated in the labor sector due to the COVID-19 health emergency, the Costa Rican Investment Promotion Agency (CINDE) has designed a virtual platform to bring together all current job offerings available at multinational companies. To date, more than 950 positions are available. This initiative is part of a joint agreement, since February 2019, betwee...

The current times are unprecedented. The Coronavirus has impacted all areas of society, forcing new measures of social behavior such as isolation and distancing. Governments around the planet try to establish different measures to contain the disease, having to improvise in many cases. In all cases, the effect has been the same: the economy is suffering massive damage, causing a domino effect. In ...

The health authorities of Costa Rica announced today that the total of positive cases of Covid-19 in the country is up to 662 cases, only two new cases since Sunday. The total includes 317 women and 345 men, 606 Costa Rican and 56 foreigners. Unfortunately, a sixth patient passed away this Monday, the deceased was a 54 year-old man that had several underlying health conditions such as diabetes ...

In the second half of March while the world was in the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic, a ransomware app called COVIDLock spread across Costa Rica, fueled by people’s fears of the unknown virus. The app claimed to prevent contagion by providing detailed interactive maps of the virus’ spread. Instead, app users found their devices hijacked, with demands for a ransom to be paid in bitcoin. Both indi...

The Minister of Health of Costa Rica confirmed a total 660 positive for Covid-19, 317 women and 343 men, 604 Costa Rican and 56 foreigners. Fourteen patients remain in intensive care. The death of a fifth patient was also informed the afternoon of this Sunday, April 19; the deceased was a 69-year-old Costa Rican man from San José who was diagnosed March 25 and remained in intensive care since Mar...

The Rincon de la Vieja Volcano located in Guanacaste, Costa Rica registered a moderate eruption Sunday April 19th at 10:16 a.m. with a column of gas that reached 1,500 meters (4,921 feet) above the crater. According to the report by the National Emergency Commission (CNE) the explosion was hydrothermal and as a product of the same materials such as mud, rocks, sediments, where ejected from the ...

All corporations and limited liability companies in Costa Rica are required to have legal books. Corporations or SAs are required to have three books as follows: 1. General Assembly to keep the minutes of shareholder meetings, including all decisions to amend the original articles of incorporation by changing the corporate structure, legal address, raising capital stock, granting powers of attorne...

It is no secret that in Costa Rica the tourism sector took the biggest impact from Covid-19 pandemic; the numbers shared by the Costa Rican Tourism Board (ICT) reflect this reality, for the month of March the country registered only 127,201 international arrivals, a considerable downfall from March 2019 when this number was 276,036. The difference of -51.4% is just the beginning, the month of ...

This Wed April 15th Costa Rica registered its fourth death to Covid-19, this time, the deceased was an 84-year-old man who was in the intensive care unit of the San Juan de Dios Hospital in San José. The senior citizen had been hospitalized since April 1st and had high blood pressure as an underlying condition. The three previous deaths were two 87-year-old men that both had previous underly...

Last week the US Coast Guard with the help of Costa Rican authorities the US  performed a well-coordinated boarding and search of the vessel the Amanda M (registered to a Costa Rican company), and seized $29 million worth of cocaine. The drugs were discovered in hidden compartments aboard the ship, and four Costa Rican nationals were taken into custody. The vessel was identified by a Coast Guard h...

Location: Costa Rica Press Release — Level 4: Do Not Travel The U.S. Embassy in San Jose and the U.S. State Department have coordinated with United Airlines to offer a commercial flight from Juan Santamaria Airport (SJO) in San Jose, Costa Rica to Houston, Texas (IAH) on Monday, April 20. The flight will depart SJO at 12:00 pm and arrive at IAH at 4:46 pm. This flight is open to public booking; y...

By Laura Gutierrez of Immigration Help Costa Rica Over the past ten years, there have been many exchanges between myself and clients or would-be clients about the advantages of living in Costa Rica vs other so-called popular countries recommended by such sources as International Living. The list includes but is not limited to Panama, Nicaragua, Mexico, Ecuador, Colombia and Uruguay. Inquirer...

Costa Rica begins the week with a total of 612 confirmed cases of Covid-19, 295 women and 317 men; 569 Costa Rican and 43 foreigners. There are positive cases in 59 counties of the seven provinces througout the country. According to the information given by the Ministry of Health, there are 20 patients hospitalized, 14 of which remain in the intensive care unit. On a positive note, 62 peo...

During almost a year, Diverse Weddings, an LGBTQ+ destination wedding business, has waited for May 26th 2020, the day that same sex couples will be able to celebrate love and a historic moment for Costa Rica! Nowadays, we´re facing an unprecedented global health emergency due to Coronavirus Covid-19, with borders closed and an unforeseen impact in Costa Rica´s tourism industry. Diverse Weddings ...

Costa Rica has 577 cases of Covid-19 confirmed as of Saturday March 11th, the government has announced it will be placing additional restrictions on vehicular traffic until April 30. Beginning on April 13, there will be a complete nighttime restriction from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. every day. When it comes to daytime restrictions, during the weekdays the restriction will be from 5 a.m. and 7 p.m., v...

The General Directorate of Migration (Immigration) established through Executive Decree 42256-MGP-S the temporary measures that are in place through April 30th to prevent the effects and spread of Covid-19 pandemic. According to Laura Gutierrez of Immigration help Costa Rica measures listed in the Executive Decree apply to foreigners who have: Permanent Residency; Special Categories; Non-Residents...

As of Friday, April 10th the Ministry of Health in Costa Rica has confirmed a total 558 positive cases of Covid-19, 269 of the patients are women while 289 are men; 524 are Costa Rican and 34 foreigners. So far 42 patients have recovered while 20 are hospitalized and 13 of them are in intensive care. The country has registered three deaths so far, 2 senior citizens both 87 years of age and a 45...

Costa Rica is a tiny country with no military, yet they are battling the coronavirus better than almost any other country in the world. Here are ten reasons for their triumph. 1. Costa Rica was the first country in Central America to have confirmed cases of coronavirus, two American tourists who had contracted the virus in New York City. They were diagnosed on March 6th, and immediately put in ...

The afternoon of Wednesday, April 8, Costa Rica’s Ministry of Health confirmed the third death of a patient with coronavirus. The deceased was a 45 year-old man from San José, he had NO underlying health problems of any sort and got the virus from a trip to the United States, the last 10 days he had been in the intensive care unit of the San Juan de Dios Hospital. “We are saddened by the passin...

PRESS RELEASE : April 8th 2020, San Jose Costa Rica  Unfortunately the current COVID-19 pandemic continues to take many precious lives. The resulting economic fallout is negatively impacting businesses worldwide – in a truly unprecedented way. As the largest English newspaper in Costa Rica, The Costa Rica Star has long been an industry leader in providing reliable, quality news and informati...

In November 2018, Venezuelan/American tourist Carla Stefaniak came to Costa Rica to celebrate her 36th birthday, but was brutally murdered by the security guard at the Airbnb where she was staying, Villa La Mas (now closed). It was to be her last night in Costa Rica before returning home to Florida. Her family feels she was twice brutalized, once by her murderer Bismarck Espinoza Martinez, and aga...

The Ministry of Health reported some positive news with the recovery of 24 patients diagnosed with Covid-19 in Costa Rica. The total number of Covid-19 positive patients is of 483 only 16 more than the day before. In total there are 237 women and 246 men diagnosed with the illness, 34 are foreign citizens. 25 people remain hospitalized out of which 14 are in intensive care with ages ranging ...

UPDATED April 9th 2020 Since the March 24th article about residencies being revoked for ex-pats leaving Costa Rica,  there still seems to be confusion and understandable anger over this temporary edict. This tough measure was primarily directed at Nicaraguans heading home to Nicaragua for their annual celebration of Semana Santa (Easter Week) – a week early. There were also a significant number...

The Ministry of Health and Social Security Service (CCSS) created the guidelines to follow in the handling of bodies of patients that have passed away and have been confirmed positive for Covid-19. Even though there are no conclusive studies to determine the real risk of transmission of a dead body, the bodies of patients that have passed away for Covid-19 could constitute a biological risk an...

The Ministry of Health in Costa Rica confirmed 467 cases of COVID-19 in the country with the provinces of San Jose and Alajuela grouping 75% of the positive cases. In total there are 227 women and 240 men who have tested positive, 435 of the patients are Costa Rican and 32 are foreigners; 422 are adults, 29 are senior citizens and 16 are minors. 26 people are currently hospitalized and 14 rema...

As of April 4, Costa Rica has had 435 confirmed cases of coronavirus COVID-19, 25 still in the hospital, and 13 who have recovered and gone home. People have gone cuckoo, wondering when or if there will be a vaccine (probably in 18 months), and when there will be a cure. This pandemic panic has laid the groundwork for an amazing array of fake treatments and snake oil salespeople. One of the fir...

Costa Rica has now confirmed 416 cases of COVID-19 in the country. The Minister of Health, Daniel Salas, showed his concern over the increase in the number of patients that are now hospitalized and those in intensive care, through this Friday, April 3 the health authorities report 23 patients in the hospital and 13 in intensive care these last ones have ages between 24 and 69. “Beyond the nu...

The infamous COVID-19 has caused not only a global health emergency but has also had a severe and negative impact on the economy. To mitigate the impact on the finances of employers, two regulations were approved over the recent days that are unprecedented in our country. The first regulation is called Temporary Suspension of the Employment Contract and is issued by the Ministry of Labor. The seco...

On April 1st The Ministry of Health confirmed to The Star that 375 patients have tested positive for coronavirus, this number includes 181 women and 194 men out of which 347 are Costa Rican and 29 are foreigners; 337 are adult, 24 are senior citizens and 14 minors. In total 15 people are currently hospitalized and 9 in intensive care with ages ranging from 36 to 69 years. With the Holy Week ...

You’ve chosen to live in Costa Rica for many good reasons, not the least of which being the breathtaking beauty, amazing weather and an idyllic life measurably better than the one you left behind. By now, you have also heard a common refrain from your realtor or other engaged professionals, neighbors, or experienced ex-pats here in Costa Rica: Get your residency! Why? There simply is no othe...

Costa Rica has now confirmed 347 cases of COVID-19 in the country, and also announced the full recovery of another patient bringing the total to four. In total 160 women and 170 men have been diagnosed with Covid-19, 303 are Costa Rican while 27 are foreigners. Positive cases are confirmed in 52 counties of the seven countries, by age the patients include 293 adults, 24 seniors, and 13 minor...

(Photo: Archive) The week in Costa Rica closes with 314 positive cases of coronavirus, but it seems that there is a large part of the population that is still taking the situation lightly, turning a blind eye on what is currently happening in Costa Rica and the consequences of the virus in other countries. The streets still look very busy, not just with those people that are forced to leave ...