- Title: More than 200 Peru police officers test positive for COVID-19
- Date: 13th April 2020
- Summary: LIMA, PERU (APRIL 13, 2020) (REUTERS) VARIOUS, WORKERS WEARING PROTECTIVE SUITS DISINFECTING VEHICLES
- Embargoed: 27th April 2020 21:33
- Keywords: COVID-19 Peru coronavirus health police officers
- Location: LIMA, PERU
- City: LIMA, PERU
- Country: Peru
- Topics: Health/Medicine
- Reuters ID: LVA004C9BRQ6F
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: As Peru battles a rising number of coronavirus cases, 217 police officers have tested positive in the Andean country, 55 have been hospitalized and nine are in intensive care.
Peru has some 200,000 police officers operating throughout the country, and so far, 9,135 have been tested, according to government data.
With police on the front lines of the battle, the Interior Ministry said they hope to conduct some 30,000 screening tests on officers within the next ten days.
Police who require hospitalization are being sent to private clinics since a recent newspaper report found safety standards and space lacking in public facilities.
Meanwhile, police arrested a Chinese citizen on Sunday (April 12) for allegedly illegally conducting rapid coronavirus tests that he has been accused of stealing from the local health ministry.
Thirty-six year-old Tianxing Zhang was arrested en route to the Brena district of Lima where he was allegedly going to test two women at their home.
Peru is currently reporting 6,848 cases of COVID-19 and 181 deaths according to the World Health Organization.
(Production: Carlos Valdez) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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