by Rod Hughes

While the central offices of the Social Security Administration section, the Caja, that runs the nation’s hospital will be closed during the holiday season, the hard-working hospitals and clinics will remain open, except for Dec. 25 and 31 when only emergencies will be accepted.

That is the decision of the Arias Administration expressed in a decree made public today. Most public buildings will be closed from Dec. 22 to Jan. 2. Most natives and longtime residents do not expect anything else from the country’s bureaucrats but usually public clinics and hospital get more of a rest—except for emergency rooms dealing with, mainly, the holiday traffic toll.

Downtime at other institutions will vary. For example, the Comptroller General’s office will be closed between Dec. 22 to Jan. 7. The English-language newspaper, The Tico Times, always publishes a list entitled “What’s Open, What’s Closed” in its final end of the year edition.