COVID-19 pandemic in Peru

The COVID-19 pandemic had a big impact on Peru. The virus first reached the country on March 6, 2020, when a 25-year-old man who had traveled to Spain, France, and the Czech Republic tested positive. Soon after, on March 15, President Martín Vizcarra announced a country-wide lockdown. This meant closing borders, stopping most domestic flights, and shutting down many businesses except for important places like health facilities, grocery stores, pharmacies, and banks.

By May 2023, Peru had more deaths from COVID-19 than any other country in the world, with over 6,400 deaths for every million people. The pandemic caused many confirmed cases and deaths, affecting millions of people and changing life in Peru for a long time.

Background

On 12 January, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that a novel coronavirus caused a sickness in a group of people in Wuhan, Hubei, China, which was reported to the WHO on 31 December 2019.

Unlike the 2002–2004 SARS outbreak, the case fatality ratio for COVID-19 has been much lower, but the transmission has been much greater, leading to many deaths.

COVID-19 came to Peru during a political crisis spanning from 2017. At that time, most Peruvians lived in an informal economy, which made it hard for people to stay home. The healthcare system was not ready, and there were no safety nets to help people, making Peru one of the places hardest hit by the disease.

Timeline

March 2020

On 6 March, Peru reported its first case of the virus. It was a 25-year-old man from Lima who had recently visited France, Spain, and the Czech Republic.

By 10 March, 11 cases were confirmed, and many were linked to the first case. Schools closed as a safety measure until 30 March.

On 15 March, President Martín Vizcarra announced a 15-day quarantine starting 16 March. Travel between provinces and into and out of the country was stopped. Flights, boats, trains, buses, and private cars were banned. Four Mexicans from Tamaulipas visiting Cusco could not return to Mexico until 2 April because all flights were canceled and Peru’s borders were closed. The President also announced that vulnerable families would receive 380 soles (US$106) to help during this time when many could not work.

On the second day of quarantine, people had to fill out an online form to leave their homes. The military patrolled the streets of Lima to enforce the rules. At 8 pm, people applauded health workers, the military, shop owners, and police from their balconies and windows. The next day, a curfew from 8 pm to 5 am was added.

On 19 March, the first death related to the disease was reported — a 78-year-old man. The death toll soon rose to 3. On 20 March, President Vizcarra announced that the Minister of Health would change because the new person had more experience in public health. The President said that if people followed the quarantine rules, the state of emergency might end after 15 days. He also announced plans to turn a residential complex for athletes from the 2019 Pan American Games into a hospital with 3,000 beds for patients.

On 26 March, President Vizcarra announced that the quarantine would be extended by 13 days, lasting until 12 April.

April 2020

On 2 April, the President announced that during the remaining days of quarantine, only men could leave their homes on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays to buy groceries, get medicine, or visit banks. Only women could do these things on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. No one could leave on Sundays.

On 3 April, the government announced that all foreigners in Peru could have their visas extended until the state of emergency ended. After the quarantine, tourists would have 45 days to leave the country. The United States Department of State announced that they had brought back over 4,680 Americans on flights from Washington Dulles airport to Lima and Cusco.

On 8 April, President Vizcarra extended the quarantine by two weeks until 26 April. That day, the Ministry of Health reported the first death of a medical worker on the front lines. The worker was in the San Juan de Lurigancho district of Lima.

On 22 April, medical representatives met with the Minister of Health and suggested extending the quarantine by at least two more weeks. There were 237 doctors infected, with 9 in intensive care. Sixty-nine infected doctors were in Lima, and 62 were in Iquitos.

On 23 April, President Vizcarra announced that the quarantine and state of emergency would be extended by two more weeks until 10 May. He stressed that people must continue social distancing, wearing masks, and avoiding large gatherings even after the state of emergency ends.

May 2020

On 3 May, the government announced a plan to slowly reopen the economy in four stages. The first stage, starting in May, allowed some restaurants to offer pickup and delivery services. Limited hotel and tourist transportation services were also allowed.

On 22 May, President Vizcarra announced that the state of emergency and quarantine would continue until 11:59 pm on Tuesday, 30 June.

Experts said that the outbreak was severe in part because many people had to travel daily to markets for food, as only 49% of households had refrigerators or freezers.

By 26 May, around 85% of intensive care beds with ventilators were full, even with curfews and border closures. Banks were crowded because people without bank accounts had to go in person to collect stimulus money.

Infections were much lower in high-altitude areas, with only 1,062 cases reported in the Cuzco Region by 31 May.

June 2020

On 1 June, the economy minister announced the start of the "second phase," which would help about 1.5 million workers and restart 84% of the economy. This phase began on 4 June and allowed more businesses to reopen, but it did not apply to certain regions.

July 2020

On 1 July, the government began the "third phase," allowing about 60 commercial activities to reopen. Certain regions were still excluded and would continue with targeted quarantines.

The government extended the quarantine on 31 July until 31 August and added more regions to the list of areas that must continue with targeted quarantines.

August 2020

On 13 August, Peru’s health ministry announced that the country had surpassed 500,000 confirmed cases, with 507,996 cases and 25,648 deaths recorded.

On 28 August, President Vizcarra extended Peru’s Health State of Emergency for 90 days starting 8 September. Social distancing and wearing facemasks would continue to be required. Health agencies would keep working on plans to watch for, contain, and care for new cases. The government would keep getting the supplies needed to fight the spread of the virus.

December 2020

On 22 December, Peru reached 1 million confirmed cases of the virus.

2021

In June 2021, Peru reviewed the number of COVID-19 deaths and increased the official count from 69,000 to 187,847 deaths. This gave Peru the highest death rate per person in the world.

2022

On 4 January 2022, Peru’s health ministry announced a third wave of infections caused by the now-dominant Omicron variant. Cases increased by 50% nationwide in two weeks, and in Lima, cases doubled. About 59% of positive cases in Lima were the Omicron strain.

Response

Government

Curfew

The government in Peru made stricter rules to help stop the spread of the virus. On March 18, they started a curfew from 8 pm to 5 am, meaning people could not leave their homes during those hours. Police arrested people who did not follow these rules. Later, the curfew was changed so it started earlier in some areas.

The president also said that only one person from each household could go out each day to buy things or visit the bank. This rule was changed later to help keep people safe while shopping.

Mask mandate

People in Peru were told to wear masks when going to places like supermarkets. The use of masks had been required since the start of the lockdown.

Medicine

Vaccine development

In April 2020, scientists in Peru worked on understanding the virus and developing a vaccine. They used special methods to create a vaccine and tested it on animals. By May 2020, they had made good progress.

Available vaccines

Main article: COVID-19 vaccination in Peru

Peru used four different vaccines to protect people from COVID-19: Sinopharm BIBP, Pfizer–BioNTech, Moderna, and Oxford–AstraZeneca.

Effects

The COVID-19 pandemic in Peru showed how weak the country's economic system was. Many people became poorer, and the middle class shrank a lot in just one year.

The pandemic made differences between rich and poor areas even bigger. Some leaders did not focus on helping people during this hard time.

Unfortunately, many children lost parents because of the pandemic. This made them more likely to face serious problems. The lockdowns also led to more worries and sadness among children and increases in difficult home situations.

Statistics

Main article: Statistics of the COVID-19 pandemic in Peru

The COVID-19 pandemic affected many people in Peru. From March 2020, the virus spread across the country, leading to many cases and deaths. Leaders took steps to help stop the spread, like closing schools and limiting travel.