Costa Rica confirms first coronavirus case in Central America

SAN JOSE - Costa Rica's government on Friday said it confirmed its first case of coronavirus in a 49-year-old woman from the United States who is in the Central American nation with her husband.

The instance marks the first confirmed infection of the fast-spreading coronavirus in Central America.

The virus has infected more than 100,000 around the world, mostly in China, the epicenter of the outbreak.

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LOOK: Kelsey Merritt on vacation with Nina Dobrev

MANILA – Fans of Kelsey Merritt were surprised to see her on vacation with a popular Hollywood actress.

On Tuesday, the Filipino-American model shared a photo of her hanging out in Costa Rica with her friends, which include Nina Dobrev of “The Vampire Diaries” fame.

She also tagged the Instagram page of the Canadian actress – which boasts of 14.5 million followers – in her photo.

“OMG I see Nina Dobrev,” one fan commented on Merritt’s post.

“She’s hanging out with Nina Dobrev. I want to cry,” another wrote.

Merritt recently made the news in the Philippines after announcing that she has been tapped to work with Victoria Sport, the active wear line of the iconic lingerie brand Victoria’s Secret.

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Panama studies building train to Costa Rica with China

LIMA - Panama is considering building a passenger train to Costa Rica with China, a project that would require an initial investment of $5 billion, Panama's President told Reuters in an interview, a sign of the Asian country's growing interest in Latin America.

President Juan Carlos Varela said Panama is promoting infrastructure investment in general and will also auction off a third metro line, with an expected $4 billion investment requirement.


China has become more involved in Latin America as the United States, under President Donald Trump, has taken a more protectionist stance on trade.

"We are doing with China a feasibility study of a 450-kilometer train between Panama and the border of Costa Rica," Varela said on the sidelines of the Americas Summit in Lima on Friday evening.

Varela also said he expected a $6 billion copper mine under construction by Australia's First Quantum Minerals to start producing next year, adding 2.5 percent to Panama's gross domestic product.

In reference to the US-China trade dispute, Varela said if any country wanted to renegotiate trade agreements, it should do so without generating conflict. Panama welcomed investment from all countries, he said.

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New York family of 5 among the dead in Costa Rican plane crash

SAN JOSE - A family of five from the New York City suburb of Scarsdale was aboard a plane that crashed and exploded minutes after takeoff from a popular beach resort in Costa Rica on Sunday, killing all 12 people aboard, a relative and the family's rabbi said.

Ten U.S. citizens and two Costa Rican pilots were killed when the Cessna 208B Grand Caravan aircraft crashed into a mountainous area off the beach town of Punta Islita, the Costa Rican government said. The town is in the province of Guanacaste, about 230 km (140 miles) west of the capital of San Jose.

Forensic workers recovered badly burned bodies from the crash site on Sunday and took the remains to San Jose on Monday, where family members and friends of the Costa Rican pilots gathered outside the morgue.

Autopsies were to begin on Tuesday, a local police official told reporters. He would not specify when bodies would be returned to relatives.

"Due to the state they are in, a little more time is required to identify them. We have to wait," the country's security minister, Gustavo Mata, told Reuters Monday in a brief telephone interview.

The dead included the Steinberg family, consisting of a couple and their three sons.

"We are in utter shock and disbelief right now," Tamara Steinberg Jacobsen, sister of the father, Bruce Steinberg, said on Facebook, where she posted pictures of the family and thanked people for their condolences.

She also asked for privacy.

Rabbi Jonathan Blake of the Westchester Reform Temple identified the family as Bruce and Irene Steinberg and their sons William, Zachary and Matthew.

"This tragedy hits our community very hard," Blake said on Facebook, saying the family had belonged to the temple since 2001 and were active in philanthropic organizations.

Nature Air, the Costa Rican company that operated the flight, identified the five Steinbergs and five other passengers: Thibault Astruc, Amanda Geissler, Charles Palmer, Leslie Weiss and Sherry Wuu.

All 10 passengers were U.S. citizens, the State Department confirmed on Monday.

They died along with Costa Rican pilots Juan Manuel Retana and Emma Ramos, Nature Air said.

Costa Rican civil aviation authorities noted Sunday there were strong winds in the area but said officials had not yet determined the cause of the crash. The flight was part of a special charter of two planes. The other took off 20 minutes earlier and arrived safely in San Jose.

Punta Islita, on Costa Rica's Pacific Coast, is popular among North American and European tourists for its pristine beaches and lush landscape.

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Costa Rica beat Italy to advance and put England out

RECIFE- Costa Rica beat Italy 1-0 on Friday to secure their progress to the World Cup knockout stage from a Group D containing three previous winners and guarantee England's first-round exit.

Captain Bryan Ruiz met Junior Diaz's cross from the left with a great 44th-minute header to cap an excellent first-half display by his team, who had a strong penalty claim turned down moments earlier.

Mario Balotelli wasted two good early opportunities for the four-times winners but Italy failed to impose themselves on the game as the group outsiders played with confidence and control to claim their second victory.

Costa Rica lead the group on six points and go into the knockout stage for the second time. Italy and Uruguay, who meet on Tuesday, each have three points but Italy's superior goal difference means they need only a draw to go through. England, on zero points, are now certain to go out at the group stage for the first time since 1958.

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