On alert: Health Minister María Luisa Avila, right, and president of the Social Security System, Eduardo Doryan, speak about precautionary measures Costa Rica is taking before a possible flu outbreak during a press conference Monday afternoon.

Nick Coté | Tico Times

The rare influenza strain that appeared in the United States, Mexico, Canada, Spain and Scotland has not yet surfaced in Costa Rica, health officials said Monday.

However, five patients in Costa Rica were still awaiting test results Monday afternoon after doctors had already ruled out 16 other suspected cases that of infection.

Health Vice Minister Ana Morice said the results for the remaining five cases will be released sometime Tuesday. Of the 21 total patients who have undergone testing, only one is a foreigner, a Mexican national who was staying at a hotel in San José.

The World Health Organization (WHO) raised its global alarm level to four concerning the current H1N1 virus outbreak that is suspected of killing 149 people in Mexico and has infected at least 40 people in the United States, according to several media reports and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Spain has confirmed one case and is examining as many as 26 possible carriers of the virus, the Spanish daily El País reported. Two cases have been confirmed in Scotland, according the daily The Scotsman.

The H1N1 virus has been confirmed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to a rare mix of human and animal variations of a Type A influeza virus.

On Monday, all of the national public hospitals were briefed by the Social Security System (Caja) and the Health Ministry on the virus and on the precautions each institution should take, said Caja president Eduardo Doryan during a press conference at his headquarters on Monday afternoon.

“Right now, the containment of the virus is fundamental,” said Health Minister María Luisa Avila at the same conference.

This week about 370,000 personal protection kits, which consist of surgical masks, protective gear and glasses, will be given to health and Red Cross workers who could be exposed to the virus in the event of an outbreak.

Health officials are recommending people who have flue-like symptoms such as headache, cough, sore throat, nausea, fever and dizziness go to a hospital to be checked for the virus. In addition, to avoid catching or spreading the virus, authorities are urging Costa Ricans to wash their hands with soap for at least 20 seconds repeatedly throughout the day, and cover coughs and sneezes with their forearm.

Immigration officials are also taking measures to isolate any possible cases entering the country through both the country's borders, and especially through Juan Santamaría International Airport near the capital, Immigration Director Mario Zamora told The Tico Times on Monday.

Flight crews are required to keep an eye out for passengers who demonstrate flu symptoms and report them to the local immigration officers as soon as the plane lands.

Once a suspected case has been detected by the authorities, the Red Cross isolates the person and then takes him or her to nearby Alajuela Hospital for testing. The operation, initially focused on planes coming from Mexico, has been extended to all international flights.

While fending off corruption charges in the courts, former president Rafael Angel Calderón (1990-1994) is planning on running for election to a new term in Costa Rica.

He is expected to formally announce his candidacy tomorrow afternoon from his party's headquarters near La Sabana Park, on the western side of the city.

While Calderón is the only candidate representing the Social Christian Unity Party (PUSC), he will face a slew of presidential hopefuls from parties that have yet to name an official candidate, including Ottón Solis and Epsy Campbell of the Citizen Action Party (PAC) and Fernando Berrocal, Johnny Araya and Laura Chinchilla of the National Liberation Party (PLN), among others.

Unlike his opposition, whose entire focus during the next nine months will be on shaking thousands of hands and passing out bumper stickers, Calderón will be in and out of court on charges that he bribed public officials to close a deal with a Finnish medical supply company.

Following his arrest in 2004, his party – which now wants to be known as simply ‘La Unidad' – watched its rankings slip and 14 seats in the legislative assembly fall to other political groups.

But the party's president Luis Fishman expressed full confidence in Calderón during a PUSC event earlier this month.

He told a crowd of reporters that Calderón will be proven innocent when the case comes to a close.

Speaking of the people leveling accusations against Calderon, Fishman said, “I think they would be happy if this party disappeared” (TT, April 17).

Record cleaning: Volunteers collect a record amount of trash at Playa Guacalillo in an annual clean-up organized by Terra Nostra Association and Wal Mart.

Photo courtesy of Terra Nostra Association

Nearly 400 volunteers from Costa Rican universities and organizations participated in a beach clean-up last week in Playa Guacalillo in the Central Pacific, west of San José.

The annual event, which is organized by the Terra Nostra Association, reported record numbers this year. The volunteers collected 4,440 kilograms of solid waste this year, more than double what groups have gathered in previous years.

Of the 4,440 kg, 2,780 kg were recyclable material. The Municipality of Garabito deposited the recyclable items in local collection centers.

This year's clean-up covered more than three kilometers of beach during eight hours of work. Terra Nostra has hosted the event for six years but never attracted more than 100 volunteers, nor covered more than one kilometer.

Last week's numbers pleased Terra Nostra Director Nydia Rodriguez, but she said there is always room for improvement.

“Imagine if we had 10,000 volunteers out there. We could cover 200 or 300 kilometers of beach,” she said.

Nydia hopes to organize another waste clean-up for September and is working to arrange volunteer groups from across Costa Rica.

For more information, visit the association's English-language Web site: www.terranostra-cr.org/english.html.

Fernando Berrocal wasn't quite finished when he left the helm of the Public Security Ministry last year.

Envisioning a safer Costa Rica, free from drug trafficking and organized crime, the 64-year-old journalist-turned-lawyer is fighting his way back into the political arena, this time hoping to tackle national security problems as the country's president.

Next month, Berrocal is set to put his campaign into high gear with increased television, radio and newspaper ads.

He spoke with The Tico Times last week about his campaign trail, his vision for a safer country and why he doesn't regret speaking out about the alleged infiltration of Colombian guerrilla fighters in Costa Rica's political sphere.

See the May 1 print or digital edition of The Tico Times for the interview with Berrocal, the first of a series of sit-downs with Costa Rican presidential candidates.