Is it safe to dive in Costa Rica? Diving with Costa Rica Adventure Divers is totally safe – Covid-19 Update –

Costa Rica has been opening its borders progressively since August 1 until now that it has recently announced that on November 1 it will open its borders for the United States as well. During this time it has obtained the Safe Travel quality seal that qualifies it as one of the safest destinations to travel at the moment. So yes is safe to dive in Costa Rica, come visit Caño Island.

All divers wonder what are the additional measures that we must take to be able to enjoy our passion but in a safe way.

We are sure that simply by respecting the three general guidelines that we all know about Meters, Hands and Mask, we already have a good part of the work done.

However, as a diving center, we follow a daily disinfection and cleaning protocol for all equipment and materials, for the facilities and for the boat; We also implement some additional measures that are very important to offer total security to our clients. Among others the following:

Staff

• All staff are in perfect health condition
• We carry out daily checks, fever and visual inspection
• The use of the mask is mandatory for everyone

Dive Shop

• We carry out 3 disinfection processes every day: before opening, after tour departure, before closing. We use disinfectants with virucidal activity authorized and registered by the Ministry of Health, applied with a disinfectant cloth or wipes.
• We proceed to the ventilation of the Facilities after each shift of Activity.
• Activities have been planned in such a way as to guarantee the safety distance established by the health authorities (2 meters); in case of impossibility, alternative measures will be taken to avoid the risk of contagion by contact.
• We have Informative posters in the diving center to remind all divers of the general rules of behavior, hygiene and prevention guidelines.
• First-aid kit complete with a thermometer.

Equipments

• The first thing to remember is that cleaning and disinfecting diving equipment should be a common practice.
• They are cleaned with a 10% chlorine solution paying special attention to masks and regulators. The most sensitive parts go through the infrared box.
• We ask all our customers if possible to bring their own mask, also in the store we have some very cheap mask and mouthpiece packs.

Boats

• They are disinfected every morning before the tour and we carry out another washing and disinfection between one dive and another.
• We maintain the capacity limits established by the Costa Rican health authorities.
• Some common practices, such as spitting in the mask, are not allowed.

Customers

• We ask you for absolute responsibility with the regulations and we will carry out temperature and visual controls to rule out any possibility of contagion.
• We facilitate hand washing with a disinfectant solution in our facilities and on the ship.
• They must fill out a covid-19 health form* in addition to all the other necessary documentation to be able to dive with CRAD.

As far as possible the diving documentation will be completed online, so we will also be more ecological.

*Since COVID-19 is a lung condition, it appears that it may have some long-term impact on lung capacity and therefore diving. There are still many unknowns, but general recommendations for those who have been in contact with the virus would be:

• Divers who have been positive for COVID-19 but totally asymptomatic, must wait at least one month before diving again.
• Divers who have had symptoms of COVID-19 but have not been hospitalized, must wait at least three months before being able to go to the medical examination of fitness to dive.
• Divers who have been hospitalized with COVID-19 due to pulmonary or cardiac complications, should follow the guidelines of their specialist and perform a hyperbaric medical examination before returning to practice.

The DAN website has a section dedicated to diving and COVID-19, with a wealth of resources on disinfection of diving equipment or possible health implications related to diving after a coronavirus.

From CRAD we always highly recommend the purchase of diving insurance for practice, but at this time it seems absolutely essential to have insurance against any inconvenience in your trip. If you want to get the best coverage at the best price, buy your insurance at DAN and re-wet your fins with maximum safety.

If you also want to enjoy your experience in Caño Island in the most exclusive way, do not hesitate to ask us about our tours and private services. Enjoy your visit without worrying about anything and in the safest way to dive in Costa Rica.