The Pandemic in Peru
This time last year, I was traveling through Peru. I've been thinking quite a bit about that trip lately and wondering what life is like there in the midst of a pandemic. First, I think it’s important to be familiar with the country’s terrain.
The capitol city, Lima, is located at sea level, while the town with the highest elevation, La Rinconada, is in the eastern Andes at 16,732 feet. Rural towns and communities are located in the valleys and on the mountains throughout the country. Some communities literally have no roads leading to them and can only be reached by foot, train, or plane. Aguas Calientes, for example, the town that sits at the base of Machu Picchu, can only be reached by foot or by train. It can take days to travel between some outlying communities.
Prior to the pandemic, it was common for migrants from outlying communities to travel to Lima for jobs. Then, on March 6, 2020, a 25-year-old Peruvian returned to Lima with the coronavirus after traveling throughout Europe, and the first confirmed COVID-19 case was announced. Nine days later, on March 15, a countrywide lockdown was announced, banning all travel between provinces, and into and out of the country. Tourists had 24 hours to leave the country. As a tourist, imagine trying to schedule last-minute transportation to the country's international airport (in Lima) from an outlying location, then re-booking air travel out of the county, with the goal of being gone within the 24-hour timeframe. In planning last year's vacation to Peru, I recall the realization that we would need to plan a day for travel between almost each destination that we wished to visit. Remember, many of those destinations are located in the mountains and valleys of the country. As vacationers, would we have heard the news immediately? Trying to exit the country within 24 hours would certainly have been a challenge. As one might expect, quite a few tourists found themselves stranded. Within another 24 hours, all (residents and visitors) were required to fill out online forms to obtain permission to leave their homes or hotels. A military-enforced curfew went into effect. Peruvians quickly began losing jobs. Hunger became an issue. Citizens caught ignoring the curfew were arrested. Migrants began applying to return to outlying communities where they could at least farm for food. Some waited for available transportation. Others just began walking. Limited testing was conducted, but the virus spread to outlying communities.
The actual person-to-person spread of the virus in Peru has largely been blamed on street markets. Although security guards enforce required face masks and limited entry in supermarkets, many Peruvians buy their food in informal street markets that are severely overcrowded. To complicate matters, the poor frequently live in cramped, unsanitary dwellings that lack running water. Cultural practices result in less personal space; Peruvians tend to stand several inches closer to each other than citizens of the U.S. The impact on isolated communities has been severe. Consider Iquitos, for example. The largest city in the Amazon rain forest has a population of approximately ½ million and is unreachable by road. The city relies on air transport for supplies. The pandemic reached Iquitos at the tail end of a dengue fever outbreak AND a bout of leptospirosis. The city’s hospitals ended up with five times the number of patients as beds. Most deaths were the result of a lack of oxygen or medical supplies.
As of May 20, Peru is second only to Brazil (with seven times the population as Peru) in COVID-19 deaths in Latin American countries. Updated statistics may be found in the link at the end of this post. Although some restrictions are being relaxed, Peru recently extended their lockdown to June 30. My heart is with the wonderful people of this extraordinarily beautiful country.
For a current update on COVID-19 data around the world, click on the Worldometer.
Sources: Wikipedia; COVID-19 pandemic in Peru The Nation: Covid-19 Is Forcing an Exodus From Peru’s Cities Conde Nast Traveler: The World's Highest City Is in Peru U.S. News and World Report: Peru Extends Protracted National Lockdown Until End of June
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