Peru has recorded 314 deaths from COVID-19, surpassed new daily record

Peru recorded 314 deaths from covid-19 on Wednesday, the highest daily figure since the pandemic erupted in the country 13 months ago, reported the Ministry of Health, four days before the presidential and legislative elections.

Accumulated infections stood at 1,607,898, after adding 9,305 on Wednesday; and deaths, at 53,725, including 314 in the past 24 hours, according to the ministry’s daily toll, which broke the record of 294 deaths recorded last Saturday.

The situation worsened in Peru, which had recorded a record high Thursday with nearly 13,000 new cases in one day.

Peruvians are called to the polls this Sunday to elect a new president and renew the Congress. The interim government of Francisco Sagasti has ruled out postponing the elections although the second wave of the pandemic does not give a truce.

Former footballer George Forsyth, 38, became the third presidential candidate to test positive for COVID-19 on Sunday, for which he suspended the closing acts of the campaign and is in isolation at home.

The daily number of infections last week averaged 8,442, up from 9,078 the week before, official figures show.

In the past two months, nearly 200 people have died from the coronavirus every day, but last week that number rose to 245.

Peru began the covid-19 vaccination on February 9 with Chinese inoculants, but initially only health workers, the military, police, firefighters and the elderly accessed it.. The goal is to vaccinate 25 million – out of a total of 33 million Peruvians – but the campaign is progressing slowly.

In hospitals nationwide, there are 13,823 coronavirus patients, according to the toll, 1,677 less than the record high of 15,500 on March 30.

On the other hand, the Organización Panamericana de la Salud (OPS) destacó el miércoles la “preocupante” alza de infecciones de covid-19 en Sudamérica, indicating that, in the última semana, Brasil y Argentina estuvieron entre los 10 países con el mayor número de nuevos contagios in everybody.

“Covid-19 infections continue to rise in the Americas,” PAHO Director Carissa Etienne said at a press conference. “But nowhere are infections more of a concern than in South America, where cases are increasing in almost every country.”

He pointed out that last week, the regions of Bolivia and Colombia saw contagions double and the countries of the southern cone saw an acceleration of cases “with uninterrupted community transmission.“. And in Peru and Ecuador, intensive care units (ICUs) are reaching their maximum capacity.

With information from AFP

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