As of September 10 2020 there have been a total of just 52,549 confirmed cases of COVID 19 across the whole of Costa Rica with 567 people dying as a result. This equates to a ratio of 0.002% of the population and compares favourably with other parts of Central and South America (Panama - 0.05%; Guatemala - 0.02%; Peru - 0.09%). Experts believe this is a result of increased investments in the Costa Rican health system over the last 50 years to create a world-class universal health system. Another reason for the low rates is the adoption of 1,000 small but well-run clinics called EBAIS to treat infected patients, keeping the virus out of the main hospitals and allowing for improved traceability and containment of the spread. Finally, the Costa Rican government was quick to give the ‘stay at home’ message in early March when there were a handful of confirmed cases. Although not mandatory, the population was quick to adopt and adhere to the advice.

At Kasiiya, we are pleased to confirm that to date every member of our staff and wider community remains healthy and completely unaffected by the virus.

Conscious of the impending border closures we bid farewell to the last of our guests on the 15th of March. On the same day we took the decision to furlough 70% of our staff, enabling them to return home to their loved ones. 

All bookings were cancelled and we immediately returned 100% of all deposits paid for future stays at Kasiiya.

After addressing the concerns of our guests and staff, we turned our attention to our local community and contacted the village of Nuevo Colon, our closest neighbour, to ensure they were prepared and had sufficient medical supplies, food and shelter. After collaboration with the village leaders, we supported the village in their aspirations to use the downtime to paint and bring new life to the infrastructure of the village. This was completed under strict social distancing with each family donating their time to help with the project.

At Kasiiya we have been using the quarantine and post quarantine period to complete various maintenance and sustainability projects, upgrading several of our tented suites and facilities. We have continued our conservation work with our NGO partners, installing night cameras and monitoring equipment to better understand the wide range of wildlife that surrounds us here and further developing our conservation project for the turtles that nest on our beaches.

The borders of Costa Rica are set to open soon, and while becoming better acquainted with the new normality of international travel, Kasiiya is excited to start welcoming guests as of December 15, 2020.

As our furloughed staff say when we check in on them, they are fine they ‘just want to get back to Kasiiya!'

We understand the importance of health for you and your family. At Kasiiya, we have made significant operational changes to address this:

Transport and check-in

• We have completely upgraded our current vehicles and added several new ones to the fleet.
• Kasiiya will no longer open any car doors for guests to ensure passenger surfaces remain untouched. We also ask you to travel solely in the back of any Kasiiya vehicle on or off-site.
• The cars we use for airport transfers and Costa Rican tours will be disinfected daily using electrostatic sprayers with Ecolab-certified products.
• At Kasiiya, our SUV's will be disinfected before and after all guest usage.
• All our electric buggies are disinfected with Ecolab-certified products at the start of each day.
• A private SUV and driver will be assigned to any guests booking transportation or external tours of the country. We will guarantee exclusive use of this vehicle and driver.
• All vehicles have a log where guests can see the cleaning schedule and last time it was disinfected.
• We’ve never believed in traditional check-ins at Kasiiya and this continues when we re-open in December. We will not request your passport, a signed document or credit card and communication will remain touchless throughout your stay.
• Your luggage will be disinfected on arrival at Kasiiya using Ecolab-certified products and left on the porch of your suite.

Tented Suites

• We leave a full 24-hour gap between all guest stays to give us sufficient time to conduct a disinfecting deep clean of each tented suite. For your peace of mind, all suites are sealed following the deep clean for you to break on arrival.
• The deep clean of each suite before every guest arrival includes: full disinfectant using foggers and ozonators as well as a UV light kit for high-touch areas and objects (such as fan controls).
• Throughout your stay a sanitizing station will be positioned next to the entrance of each suite allowing you to disinfect the doorknob for psychological comfort. A sanitizing kit, including wipes, gel, face masks and thermometer, will be available inside.
• Although air conditioning and fans are available, air naturally circulates through the tented suites at Kasiiya. The five-layered fabric ensures the rich fragrant air of the forest can flow freely while insects and wildlife are kept at bay.
• For consistency, the same housekeeping staff will be assigned to your suite for the entirety of your stay.
• All laundry coming into Kasiiya will be disinfected using ultra violet scanners before being used.

Public areas

• The Kasiiya design follows one of our founding values that every guest should be able to find their own balance between remoteness and community.
• All public areas will be thoroughly cleaned throughout the day using disinfectant and will receive a deep clean at the start of each morning.
• The public eating areas are fully open with no doors. In fact, there are almost no doors in the public areas at Kasiiya at all. The only exception being the restroom door where a constantly renewed box of sanitizing wipes will be available for guest use before entering.
• All guests will have a private table at least 2 m from your neighbour.
• All surfaces, including the tables, cutlery and crockery are fully disinfected using approved Ecolab products.
• Additional sanitizing stations will be located throughout Kasiiya to allow guests to remain disinfected throughout the day.

The Kasiiya team

• Kasiiya hires and trains our staff from the four or five neighbouring villages to us who we have been supporting throughout the crisis. These villages are within an hour and a half from us so we have seen the social distancing and disinfecting measures they have adopted to remain safe during the lockdown.
• All members of our team have been trained about the dangers and best practice of COVID19 by certified experts such as Ecolab.
• Every team member will wear certified face masks and gloves during their entire shift.
• All staff members must wash their hands at least once an hour, with this rising considerably during service.
• All staff members will keep a minimum of six feet distance between themselves and other people and, of course, any hugs, kissing or shaking of hands is prohibited.
• Every member of the Kasiiya team’s temperature will be checked daily. Should anyone show signs of temperature increase, we have a strict protocol including isolation in one of the fully-stocked local houses we’ve rented for such an incident where they will remain until they can be tested and treated by our company doctor.
• The entire guest-facing team who live on-site (80% of all staff) will be rotated every four weeks. Each member will be tested when they arrive to start their four-week stint and before they enter the property or come into contact with guests.
• The remaining 20% of our workforce (including gardeners, security and technical) live offsite and have their temperature taken before they enter the property at the start of each morning. All their belongings will be disinfected using our ultra violet scanner and they will fully change into disinfected uniforms, including masks and gloves before starting work. Team members living off-site have a different area for lunch than the onsite team members.
•  We do not use external contractors.