- Title: Peru police out in force to stop new wave of coronavirus infections
- Date: 2nd September 2020
- Summary: LIMA, PERU (SEPTEMBER 1, 2020) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WAITING OUTSIDE HOSPITAL, WHOSE LOVED ONES ARE BEING TREATED INSIDE (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) LOCAL RESIDENT, TRINIDAD CARDENAS, SAYING: "Many are not aware of what we are going through (reference to pandemic). As it's been said, there is a lot of ignorance and it (coronavirus) has to touch a member of the family for t
- Embargoed: 16th September 2020 20:25
- Keywords: COVID-19 Lima Peru coronavirus infections lockdown police quarantine security wave
- Location: HUANCAYO + LIMA, PERU
- City: HUANCAYO + LIMA, PERU
- Country: Peru
- Topics: Health/Medicine,South America / Central America,Peru
- Reuters ID: LVA004CTZWGUF
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Police in Peru are out in force to help turnaround a new wave of coronavirus infections in the South American country.
Officers are breaking up clandestine gatherings, bars and events and making a number of arrests as they take a strict approach to policing quarantine restrictions.
Peru has recorded around 622,000 cases of the coronavirus, the fifth highest case load in the world and 28,277 deaths. It now has the world's deadliest fatality rate per capita, with 86.67 deaths per 100,000 people, a Reuters tally shows, just ahead of Belgium.
Peru, a country of nearly 33 million people and the world's no. 2 copper producer, has been particularly hard-hit by the pandemic, both in terms of infections and economic impact. The economy crumbled over 30% in the second quarter of the year.
The death toll could also be higher than official figures suggest. A national registry shows that between April and August there were 68,192 more deaths compared to the same period in 2019. Excess deaths often give a better indication of the true number of fatalities.
As it seeks to keep a lid on the pandemic, the country will also start testing coronavirus vaccines from China's Sinopharm and U.S. drugmaker Johnson & Johnson in September, researchers said, which should help the country gain faster access to inoculations once the vaccines are approved.
(Production: Carlos Valdez, Paul Vieira) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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