Pedestrians walk in the Mesa Redonda Market, a popular spot for Christmas shopping in Lima, Peru
LIMA, Dec 23 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Peru passed 1 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 infections becoming the fifth nation in Latin America to report that number as the region struggles with the pandemic’s economic and health effects.
Peru, which has a population of 32 million, was quick to declare lockdown measures in March as the pandemic spread in Europe. But in spite of closing its airports for almost six months and ordering most of its residents to stay at home, it has struggled to contain the virus.
Officials said they had recorded 1,000,153 cases as of Tuesday evening.
More than 37,000 people have died from COVID-19 in Peru. That gives the Andean nation the world’s second-highest per capita death toll from the pandemic, according to data compiled by John Hopkins University.
Peru began to reactivate its economy in August after case numbers peaked in late July, but several factors have made it vulnerable.
About 70 per cent of the labor force works in the informal economy and is hard-pressed to stay at home. Water also is scarce in neighborhoods on the periphery of large cities like Lima, which have become focal points for infection.
Many Peruvians lack simple devices that can help them stay at home. According to a recent government study, only 22 per cent of families in working-class areas of Peru own a refrigerator.
Those who don’t must make regular visits to street markets where the virus spreads easily.
The current government is currently struggling to purchase coronavirus vaccines from international laboratories and recently blamed the former administration of Pres Martin Vizcarra for not completing a purchase with Pfizer for 9 million vaccine doses. — NNN-AGENCIES
