Costa Rican authorities made a decision to request a $1.75 billion worth of aid from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in a bid to overcome the economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic, El Pais website reported Saturday, Trend reports citing TASS.
According to the report, the loan will span over three years. The authorities report that the national deficit in 2020 may exceed 9% of Costa Rican GDP. The republic’s central bank predicts an economy contraction of 5%. In April, the IMF has already provided the republic with an emergency financial aid of $504 million to fight the coronavirus.
Currently, 38,485 people have contracted COVID-19 in Costa Rica, 407 of them died. On March 16, the government declared the state of emergency, which involves temporary shutdown of educational facilities and bars, beach and parks, cancellation of mass events and shutdown of borders. In May, the authorities allowed restaurants and fitness halls to reopen under a condition that they will operate at 50% capacity at most.