COVID-19 In Peru: One Of The Tightest In Conflict But Also Hardest Hit By The Outbreak

Photo illustration (Matt Seymour / Unsplash)

JAKARTA - Peru is the first country in Latin America to take the most stringent COVID-19 prevention measures. Peru has urged its citizens from the start to stay at home, imposed a curfew and closed borders. But these steps did not prevent Peru from the fact that they are one of the worst-hit countries by COVID-19 in Latin America, after Brazil.

Currently Peru has 129,900 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 3,700 deaths. This figure puts Peru second after Brazil in both the number of cases and deaths in South America.

Launching CNN, Wednesday, May 27, 2020, Brazil and Peru handle COVID-19 much differently. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro downplayed the dangers posed by COVID-19.

Meanwhile, Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra declared on March 15 a national emergency and urged citizens to self-quarantine and close national borders. Even so, soaring numbers were inevitable.

According to the Peruvian Government, about 85 percent of ICU beds with ventilators are currently occupied and overcrowding in hospitals adds to the concern. "This situation is not just a health emergency, but a health disaster, which is defined as a situation where the pandemic has exceeded the response capacity of the health sector," said Dr. Alfredo Celis from the Medical College of Peru.

Economic inequality

Inequality in Peru is one reason why widespread COVID-19 is inevitable, according to Dr. Elmer Huerta, a doctor in Peru. "What I learned is that this virus is laying bare the socio-economic conditions of a place," he said.

Many of Peru's poor have no choice but to go outside to work, buy food and carry out banking transactions. For example, only 49 percent of households in Peru own a refrigerator or freezer, according to the country's 2017 Census.

This shows that many people have to go to the market every day to buy food because they cannot store it for very long. "You should avoid human contact in a society where people can't stay at home," Huerta said.

People also ended up crowding the banks when they accessed aid funds disbursed by the government during the COVID-19 outbreak. A government stimulus package to help millions of Peru's most vulnerable families is a good idea, but its distribution is poorly designed, said Kristian Lopez Vargas, an economist and assistant professor at the University of California.

In a report last year, the agency regulating Peruvian banks reported that only about 38 percent of adults have bank accounts. Lack of access to the financial system meant that the majority of beneficiaries had to go to the bank themselves to get their money.

Many Peruvians also live and work in irreconcilable ways with physical distancing. According to Lopez Vargas, more than 30 percent of households in Peru live in overcrowded conditions, with four or more people sleeping in the same room.

In addition, more than 72 percent of Peruvians work in the informal economy, according to Peru's National Institute of Statistics and Information. For those who live daily in the informal sector, earning an income often depends on going to work and not isolating themselves.

Peru's priority to enforcing health guidelines also appears to have evolved since the state of emergency was first declared. In early April, Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra reported that during the first weeks of the stay-at-home mandate, as many as three thousand people were arrested for breaking the rules. On Monday, May 25, he announced that his priority was to enforce health protocols in the country.

According to Vizcarra, one lesson learned from the pandemic response is that people must change many destructive social behaviors. "Behavior like this (breaking physical distancing rules) is individualistic, selfish, ignores what's going on around us, and exactly what has brought about this kind of situation now, not just in Peru, but the whole world," said Vizcarra.

But experts warn against blaming people too much. The basic problems posed by pandemics are not new. "Although it may seem like a mystery to some people, it is not a new problem," concluded Lopez Vargas.