As of this Monday, the night vehicle circulation restriction will be in force again starting at midnight, which will last until 5:00 a.m. Since last January 11th, the circulation of vehicles has been restricted from 10 p.m. due to the increase in cases of Covid-19.
The new schedule is part of the health measures, announced the previous Friday and whose application is scheduled until next February 15th. The nighttime vehicle restriction applies throughout all the country. In addition, the daytime vehicle restriction schedule is maintained in the GMS roads, according to the license plate number.
The restriction goes as follows:
Monday plates ending in 1 and 2 do not circulate
Tuesday, those finished in 3 and 4
Wednesday, 5 and 6
Thursday, 7 and 8
Friday, 9 and 0
On Saturdays and Sundays there is no daytime restriction. Only applies at night.
Other measures
It should be remembered that starting this Monday buses will be able to circulate again with 100% of their permitted capacity and the plan for the gradual opening of mass activities will also resume.
In other words, people will be allowed back in cultural and sports shows with percentages of 60% in January and 80% as of February 1st. On the other hand, as of January 31st, those over 12 years of age must present the QR code to enter establishments and activities that request it.
The transition period for the voluntary use of the QR code was also extended for another month, until March 7th. This allows establishments to have a greater capacity.
Relief in restaurants and shops
For its part, the restaurant sector was relieved by the reduction in vehicle restriction hours, since establishments will be able to receive customers for more hours. Eliott Campos, president of the Costa Rican Chamber of Restaurants (Cacore) showed his relief and pointed out that it seems that a letter sent to the Government, by the association, did have an effect.
“Finally they accepted our calls, almost prayers, to loosen the situation a bit. The way we were going, we were shortly before entering a second wave of bankruptcies, as happened in 2020,” Campos said.
Campos assured that the pandemic and the restrictions imposed led to the bankruptcy of 3,000 businesses. The chamber is currently composed of 800 members. Arturo Rosabal, vice president of the Costa Rican Chamber of Commerce, reaffirmed that the relaxation of the measures must be based on generating more employment in the country.
Despite this, he added that the group considers that the vehicle restriction should be eliminated “because we consider that they do not make any sense.” He insisted that the possibility of using other verification mechanisms for vaccinated persons should be opened up.
“We should not limit ourselves to the QR Code, we should allow other types of proof of vaccination, such as cards, to be just as permitted so that verification is much more agile,” said Rosabal.
