In a region of the world fast becoming the new global epicenter of the virus, warned the World Health Organization (WHO), with more than 500,000 cases diagnosed, Peru has become the most affected country behind the Brazilian giant in South America. And this, despite nine weeks of quarantine and drastic measures taken as of March 15 – a date when the country counted less than a hundred cases and no deaths. "We are living in a dramatic situation, some hospitals in the Amazon or northern Peru have completely collapsed. There is a lack of oxygen, beds, doctors … ", alerts Ciro Maguiña Vargas, infectious disease doctor at the Cayetano-Heredia University of Lima and vice-president of the Medical College of Peru.
The latest official figures are alarming. The number of Covid-19 patients has passed the 100,000 mark, for a population of 32 million. To date, more than 3,200 people have died. Some 7,545 patients are hospitalized, 901 of whom are in intensive care. According to several sources, the official death toll is only the tip of the iceberg: the figures should be multiplied by three, four, or even nine depending on the region.
According to health specialists, the peak of the pandemic could be reached in the coming days depending on the region. The south of the country has so far been relatively spared, unlike the north and the Amazon region, where the healthcare system is on the brink of breakdown. Almost 83% of cases are concentrated in just five regions, including the capital, Lima. Faced with this worrying situation, the Head of State, Martin Vizcarra, has just extended, on Friday, May 22, the state of emergency throughout the country until June 30.
Drastic measures
But how do you explain such a bleak picture when the Peruvian president, unlike his Brazilian counterpart Jair Bolsonaro, took the epidemic seriously and adopted drastic measures hailed by the medical community? The country closed its land borders in mid-March, prohibited interprovincial transport and imposed strict confinement. A curfew has even come into effect every day from 6 p.m. and the wearing of a mask has been made compulsory.
At first, the effort seemed to pay off. Between March and April, the contagion and death curve increases only slightly. And then, from mid-April, the numbers suddenly run wild.
In addition to the massive increase in testing which makes it one of the countries in the most control, the sudden rise in the pandemic is due to several factors. "The Peruvians held out for four weeks (containment), but in a country where 70% of the population lives on informal work, people have been forced out, driven by hunger ”, explains Ciro Maguiña Vargas.
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