LIMA, Sept 23 (NNN-ANDINA) — Wearing facemasks will be mandatory only inside hospitals, public transportation vehicles, and for those citizens who have symptoms of COVID-19 or another respiratory disease, Health Minister Jorge Lopez announced.
He said that the measure will enter into force the day after the corresponding rule is published in the Official Gazette El Peruano.
First, it must be signed by the Council of Ministers once the Cabinet members, who attended the United Nations General Assembly, have returned from the United States.
The government official stressed that other reasons why this provision is adopted is because Peru has already reached optimal levels of vaccination against the novel coronavirus.
Lopez indicated that another measure to be included in said rule is the obligation only for passengers entering Peru from abroad and interprovincial transportation users to present the vaccination card.
Likewise, Lopez projected that the end of the fourth wave of COVID-19 in Peru might be announced in two weeks —taking into account the decrease in cases over recent weeks.
Furthermore, the government official said that Peru is evaluating the possibility of including new vaccines against COVID-19 that have been produced abroad in the annual vaccination schedule.
“This (COVID-19) will become an endemic (disease), and this COVID-19 vaccine is very likely to be included in the regular schedule,” he emphasized.
Moreover, the Health Ministry’s head confirmed that the first batch of the pediatric vaccine against COVID-19 from Moderna arrived in Peru last Wednesday to immunize children aged between 6 months and 4 years, 11 months.
He also affirmed that the distribution of said doses has begun, adding that the immunization process for said group of minors will begin this weekend. — NNN-ANDINA
