You Are in Costa Rica, Have Covid-19, and Need to Return Home. What do You Do?

What happens if you are in Costa Rica and test positive before your flight back home? Well, it depends on where you are from. This is a simple guide to help answer your questions regarding traveling from Costa Rica having a SARS-CoV-2 infection.

• First, you should note that local health authorities will impose a 10-14 sanitary quarantine order to anyone receiving a positive Covid-19 test, even if you test negative during that period. The duration of the stay-at-home order depends on the severity of disease and is defined by the doctor that attends you. (Update – 01.20.22: The Ministry of Health of Costa Rica updated its quarantine guidance on January 19th, 2022, to reduce the quarantine from 10 to 7 days at least during the omicron wave hitting the country.)

• Most airlines flying in and out of Costa Rica require a 14-day quarantine prior to boarding the plane, and this applies to any person who has received a positive SARS-CoV-2 test.

• Foreign persons issued a sanitary order by the Ministerio de Salud (Ministry of Health) must secure accommodation for the quarantine, and must pay for their tests. (Note that a travel insurance policy is an entry requirement to Costa Rica for those unable to show proof of vaccination.)

• You will not be penalized for overstaying your visa if you are complying with a sanitary order.

• What happens if only one of my family/party tests positive? Regardless if you’re a local or a tourist, if you have contracted Covid-19 you should do quarantine for 10-14 days in a place separated from everyone else. So, if only one of your party is positive, they should stay in a separate place, but you will likely receive a quarantine sanitary order for being close contact with a positive person.

• If you are returning to the United States, you must provide a negative Covid-19 test, or a letter from a healthcare provider stating that you are clear to travel. If you are not  vaccinated, you must quarantine for at least seven days after arrival in the United States and get tested — if you are vaccinated, you will not need to quarantine but you should get tested 3 to 5 days after arrival. Read more.

• If you are returning to Canada, you cannot enter if you have a positive Covid-19 test from less than 11 days before arriving. All travelers, with few exceptions, must provide a negative test result. Fully vaccinated travelers can enter the country but are not exempt from mandatory randomized arrival testing. Read more.

• If you are heading back to Europe, it depends on the country. For instance, in Belgium, fully vaccinated passengers from outside of Europe must take a PCR test and quarantine until given a negative result; in Denmark, everyone needs a negative Covid-19 test even if they are vaccinated; and in France, all travelers must present a negative PCR result, regardless of their vaccination status. Germany, Italy and Spain are other countries requiring negative tests for travelers, with some variations in the demanded time frames. Read more.

• If you were visiting from the United Kingdom, you need to have a negative Covid-19 test and also take another test upon arrival, regardless of your vaccination status. If your test is positive, you must self-isolate for at least 10 days and take tests on days 2 and 8. If you are not fully vaccinated and have a negative result, you still need to self-isolate for 10 days and take a test on day 8. If you are traveling to the country for less than 10 days, you must quarantine your whole time there. Read more.

Please, keep in mind things can change very quickly in regards to Covid-19 protocols and restrictions, in Costa Rica and around the world. It is always best to check your country’s specific guidelines (the links in this article lead to them, except for the European information) and with your airline, as their requirements may differ as well.