The COVID-19 pandemic in Peru has resulted in confirmed cases of COVID-19 and deaths. The virus spread to Peru on 6 March 2020, when a 25-year-old man who had travelled to Spain, France, and the Czech Republic tested positive. On 15 March 2020, President Martín Vizcarra announced a country-wide lockdown, closing borders, restricting domestic flights, and forbidding nonessential business operations, excluding health facilities, grocery stores, pharmacies, and banks. As of May 2023, Peru has the highest COVID-19 death rate in the world, with over 6,400 deaths per one million citizens.
Background
On 12 January, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that a novel coronavirus was the cause of a respiratory illness in a cluster 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 significantly greater, with a significant total death toll.
COVID-19 emerged in Peru amid a political crisis spanning from 2017 as the neoliberal framework of the country – established by Alberto Fujimori's implementation of Plan Verde – began to collapse under numerous corruption scandals. Under the system, seventy-five percent of Peruvians lived hand-to-mouth in an informal economy that prevented participation in isolation, Peru's healthcare was largely privatized and ill-prepared while social safety nets were not established, ultimately creating a "perfect storm" of leaving citizens vulnerable to one of the highest death rates of COVID-19 in the world.
Timeline
March 2020
On 6 March, the first confirmed case in Peru was announced. The person was a 25-year-old Peruvian living in Lima who had recently returned from travels in France, Spain, and the Czech Republic.
A total of 11 cases were confirmed on 10 March, with 7 of the new cases being related to the first known case in Peru. On the following day, two new cases were registered. Due to the global pandemic, the Peruvian government decided to cancel classes in public and private schools, as a precautionary measure until 30 March.
President Martín Vizcarra made a national announcement on 15 March, declaring a 15-day quarantine effective from 16 March. Putting in place stringent rules nine days after the first case was seen in the country. There was a sudden ban on all travel between provinces, all travel into and out of the country, and a ban put in place for planes, boats, trains, buses, and private automobiles. A group of four Mexicans from Tamaulipas who went to Cusco on 16 March, on vacation could not return to Mexico until 2 April because all flights had been canceled and the borders of Peru were closed. Furthermore, thousands of American, Israeli, Australian, and British tourists trapped mostly in Cusco and Lima were unable to leave the country in the 24 hours between announcement of the quarantine and cessation of all flights. On this day, the President also announced a sum of 380 soles (US$106) would be given to vulnerable families to help while most people are unable to work.
The second full day of quarantine on 17 March saw citizens being required to fill out an online form to obtain permission to leave home. The military patrolled the streets of Lima to enforce this, and people were not allowed to walk together. At 8 pm that night through an organized effort, Peruvians and residents in Peru went out to their balconies and windows to applaud the front-line workers such as doctors, the Peruvian Armed Forces, market shop owners, and National Police of Peru to applaud their efforts during the pandemic. The next day on 18 March, the government tightened the measures of quarantine, implementing a curfew from 8 PM-5 AM where citizens are not allowed to leave their homes.