What’s Happening Here in Peru
In Peru, like the rest of the world, we are living in strange times. After almost two months of quarantine, most Peruvians are feeling the pain of the state of emergency, the social distancing, and the complete country-wide lock-down.
After exploring far-and-wide to create sustainable tourism options for our clients we are, like much of the world, devastated to have to put our projects on hold. We hope for a speedy global recovery to the global, COVID-19, pandemic situation. In the meantime, we are doing everything we can to take care of our wonderful team.
Peru Travel Status
At this stage, all international to/from Peru has been halted. Travel within the country is also not allowed for the time being. The country has taken a rather strong stance against the COVID-19 virus in the hopes of controlling the spread within the country. Repatriation flights have gradually allowed stranded tourists to make their way home.
Daily COVID Stats from the Ministry of Health
As of today, The Ministry of Health announced that the total number of COVID-19 cases in Peru has reached 28, 699. To date, there are 3,968 hospitalized patients with Covid-19, of whom 598 are in the ICU with mechanical ventilation.
The number of deaths has risen to 782, but 8,425 people have completed their period of home isolation or were discharged from a health facility.
Lima continues to be the region with the highest number of cases with 18,571 followed by the regions of Callao (2672), Lambayeque (1651), Loreto (827), Piura (816), La Libertad (553), Ancash (547), Arequipa (479), Ucayali (370 ), Ica (339), Junín (290), Tumbes (250), Cusco (196), Huánuco (167), San Martín (166), Cajamarca (141), Moquegua (94), Madre de Dios (87), Amazonas (84), Pasco (82), Tacna (71), Puno (69), Apurímac (69), Ayacucho (60) and Huancavelica (48).
Tourism and Foreign Trade Minister Edgar Vasquez says that the reopening of the tourism sector will initially focus on the domestic market once the containment phase of the current crisis is completed. His ministry is currently preparing a plan for the reopening of tourism which will include government assistance and about 15 biosafety protocols that must be met. “The first thing that we are going to promote is internal tourism,” said Vasquez, “whenever possible, inter-provincial transport and national air transport, especially in regions where there is an appropriate level of sanitation”
Yesterday President Vizcarra said that an additional 1.15 million coronavirus tests will arrive next week including 800,000 rapid tests and 350,000 molecular tests.
The Peruvian Government’s response to the global Pandemic has been multi-faceted. The gradual lifting of what has been termed the “State of Emergency” will play out in 3 phases. The government is doing everything that it can to get businesses open again in the safest possible manner. For example, The Minister of Labor and Employment Promotion, Sylvia Cáceres, said that once restaurants open for deliveries, their workers must be contracted employees and must follow strict protocols for health and sanitation. Some restaurants will potentially be able to open for take-away and delivery as of the 4th of May.
Miscellaneous News
Spectacled Bear Reclaims Machu Picchu!
Not many people realize that the Machu Picchu Sanctuary is a natural habitat to one of the world’s rarely seen bears — the spectacled bear of “Paddington Bear” fame.
Also known as an Andean Bear, there are reportedly only 13 of these bears currently living in the area of Machu Picchu. They are listed as “vulnerable” and can be found in much greater numbers in other parts of the country, but they are extremely shy and rarely seen by even local people.
It appears that the absence of people in the Machu Picchu site has encouraged at least one of these bears to pay a visit as recorded on this video on Sernanp’s Facebook page!
