www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Just got a hold of Labratorio San Jose close to Biblica. They said they have a Covid test for about $100.00. 24 hr results if taken Monday thru Friday. 36 hour results if taken on the weekend. I am often in the area so the next time around, I'll stop in and ask specific questions.

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I am NOT a Cien Boy!!

Purely speculation, but I expect a short total halt of international flights (30 to 60 days, creeping to 90 to 120 days) for a tracking system to be designed snd implemented based on cellphone GPS tracking and random check-in calls. Threats of stiff federal penalties will intimidate most into just staying put. I expect we will hear more around Feb 3rd, the deadline for the report on how to constitutionally implement Biden's executive order.

I could be right, I am probably wrong.

Bob Dole '96. A better man for a better America.

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If you let the devil ride, he's gonna want to drive

Bans for non US Citizens are going into effect for flights from Brazil, South Africa, the UK, and most EU countries.

However, beyond that, I don't expect the CDC to implement anything other than recommendations for the states to follow. The document I posted a bit earlier goes into reasons why.

Some random thoughts on the current state of things:

Good News:

• Infection rates and hospitalizations have been going down
• California is about to loosen up restrictions
• The US has managed to vaccinate 22 million people and is vaccinating at a rate of just over 1 million per day. IF we can keep that rate up, we can be at close to 40% vaccinated by the start of May.
• Vaccines are expected to be effective on the new variants.
• FEMA has been enlisted to get the vaccine out.
• Johnson & Johnson should be getting their vaccine into the mix by mid February. It's a single shot and doesn't require super low temps for storage. THIS is the Obi Wan Kenobi of vaccines if we're able to get it out there. This will help with the one piece of bad news I can think of....

Bad news:

• There may be vaccine shortages due to some poor purchasing decisions made by the former CDC Head.

I actually think we're in a pretty good spot TBH. By very late spring, early summer we'll be at a point where we'll still be wearing masks, and there will be some lighter restrictions in place, but we'll have turned a corner on this thing so we can all move on with our lives.

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Ignorance is acceptable, we can remedy that with knowledge,.. stupidity, is when you guard your ignorance ...

You could ask Hotel Castillo also if in the area. Quick turnaround what they are saying.

That's some really good news Saltyron! I like 22M vaccinated so far including me + now giving 1M/day vaccinations!!

I am so glad I got to come down over MLK weekend. Not the funnest trip but even a slow day mongering in C.R. beats a good day in U.S.

Thanks for the info , makes for interesting reading. I believe the courts deferred to the "Due Process" clause in the constitution.
Someone posted a link to an article (NBC ? ABC news) about a women (Nurse) who was mandated to quarantine after returning from Africa treating Ebola patients. The federal court ruled against the agency , I don't recall the details. If I remember correctly , she had no symptoms. The court stated she was denied Due Process in challenging the quarantine.

While the situation in the US seems be improving, I don't see that it necessarily equates to welcoming those returning from overseas with open arms. Perhaps from Israel or New Zealand, but not from Central or South America. I note yesterday the President of Mexico announced he has COVID and the Colombian Defense Minister died from COVID today. New strains popping up, "projected" but not proven vaccine efficacy.

BTW, I saw several social media posts today about people not being able to get appointments at labs in Jaco and other areas for tests. Rapid antigen tests have been approved in CR, but I'm not aware of any lab actually delivering them.

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If you let the devil ride, he's gonna want to drive

Ron Bad News is some states are slow in Distributing, Here in Ohio where I live we have only Vaccinated around 680,000 and and then for the 2nd round of vaccination that just started this week here.

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Stay Humble Amigos !

CDC and Biden administration are actively looking at requiring COVID testing for US domestic flights.
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/us-acti ... dlines_hed

Sounds like a general loosening of travel restrictions to me.

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If you let the devil ride, he's gonna want to drive

You missed the sarcasm tag Regardless, we'll see if they're actually able to do this without litigation.

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Ignorance is acceptable, we can remedy that with knowledge,.. stupidity, is when you guard your ignorance ...

Yep, it didn't take a Texas judge very long to place an injunction on the deportation halt. The stroke of ghe pen only goes so far.

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If you let the devil ride, he's gonna want to drive

Some states are doing better, some worse. The national number is 7% for the first dose. Regardless, I expect the rates will improve over time, primarily because of FEMA getting involved in managing distribution and vaccinations. The J&J Vaccine will make a huge difference as well, it's a single shot, doesn't require the deep cooling the other two vaccines do, and J&J has stated they can get 100,000,000 doses to the U.S by the end of April if they get approval within the next few weeks.

https://www.barrons.com/articles/j-j-wi ... 1611681829

https://www.barrons.com/articles/johnso ... 1611325577

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Ignorance is acceptable, we can remedy that with knowledge,.. stupidity, is when you guard your ignorance ...

FEMA - the government agency behind Katrina and Maria response and recovery.

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If you let the devil ride, he's gonna want to drive

LOL I know, but it's better than the CF some of the state agencies are creating.

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Ignorance is acceptable, we can remedy that with knowledge,.. stupidity, is when you guard your ignorance ...

Distribution doesn't matter one bit if there is no inventory to distribute. The companies had made up many doses for weeks / months awaiting final approval. That inventory is what is out there now.
In most cases the vaccine doesn't go straight from the bottling phase to the transportation phase. You also have to balance out those in need of the second shot with people awaiting the first.

A single shot and a vaccine that doesn't need the more restrictive temperature controls are going to speed things up.

The pharma companies are limited in how many doses they can make per day, with all the regulations and quality controls needed, you can't add capacity overnight or even within months.
You also have massive planning failures at the state level in many instances. They had months to get ready and many had no idea at the start and have been playing catch up for about a month.