By Wendy Anders

Yesterday, the Costa Rican Ministry of Health issued a statement to inform the public that Manuel Antonio National Park was granted a 3-month extension on the period of time allotted to carry out necessary improvements to the area’s infrastructure.

The Central Pacific Regional Directorate extended the time-frame granted under the sanitary order ARS-A-OS-022-2017 issued earlier this year mandating the park “remedy the physical and sanitary deficiencies found by the Quepos Health Area.”

These problems relate to the park’ accessibility by persons with disabilities (Law 7600), as well as improvement of water tank systems, and disposal of waste water and excreta; among other problems cited by local health officials in Quepos, the nearby district capital.

Due to the magnitude of the improvements required, the Ministry of Health said they “consider it prudent to grant the extension since the National Park Administration requires additional time to correct these faults, and thus ensure the public health of visitors.”