Costa Rica Will Ban American Tourists from Entering When It Reopens Airports to Visitors from Around the World Next Month

• Costa Rica will permit travelers from the European Union, United Kingdom and Canada starting August 1
• All passengers must will be required to show proof of negative COVID-19 tests and have medical insurance coverage
• The Central American nation is banning tourists from the United States
• Juan Santamaría International Airport in Costa Rica’s capital San José and Daniel Oduber Quirós International Airport in the northeast city of Liberia will reopen
• Costa Rican government closed off its border to international visitors March 16
• The Bahamas is another popular tourist destination that has banned American

The government of Costa Rica will be reopening next month to travelers from the European Union, the United Kingdom and Canada. However, it will ban visitors from the United States.

The decision to reopen two of its four international airports was announced Thursday even as the Central American nation reported the highest daily number of coronavirus infections to date.

Costa Rica has joined the European Union’s 27 member nations, China, Canada, Japan, New Zealand and the Bahamas in prohibiting American tourists. 

Most other countries have placed restrictions on U.S. residents upon arrival. Jamaica requires passengers to provide a negative COVID-19 test while South Korea requires all American arrivals to quarantine for two weeks.

The Dominican Republic, Mexico and Ecuador are the only Latin American nations allowing travelers from the United States. The rest remain closed off to travelers from the entire globe.

Costa Rica registered a record 768 new cases of the virus on Thursday, taking the total to 13,129.  

The first flights will arrive from Frankfurt, Germany and Madrid, Spain, tourism minister Gustavo Segura said during a press conference.

‘The recovery of the sector will be carried out with the utmost prudence and in adherence to strict sanitary protocols, always with the supreme conviction of ensuring the health and life of people,’ President Carlos Alvarado said.

At least five international flights will arrive per week beginning August 1 at Juan Santamaría International Airport in Costa Rica’s capital San José and Daniel Oduber Quirós International Airport in the northeast city of Liberia.

In the following months, visitors from the U.K. and Canada will be permitted.

Tourists would only be allowed to enter the country after presenting negative COVID-19 test results, as well as travel insurance that would cover any potential quarantine or medical costs.

‘In the event that a tourist does not meet these requirements, they will not be able to embark on national soil,’ Segura said. ‘It is necessary to give this signal to reopen commercial flights for the reactivation of the tourism sector.’ (Reuters)