Part of Peru enters two-week virus lockdown

Ten regions in Peru, including the capital Lima, went into lockdown on Sunday, as the country suffered a resurgence in COVID-19 cases that has brought healthcare services to their maximum capacity.

Authorities ordered that for two weeks citizens will be only allowed to leave home for one hour between 6 am and 6 pm, and that gyms, churches, hair salons, museums and libraries will remain closed.

In the streets, some residents did not fully comply with the measures on Sunday.

People in the crowded street markets wore masks but left their noses uncovered or haven't kept the social distance.

Resident Santa Paredes said she disagrees with the lockdown measures, as many people have already lost their jobs due to the coronavirus crisis.

President Francisco Sagasti said Sunday that the current lockdown, as it was announced in advance, has given time for the population to return to their home places if needed.

In 2020, Peru established a 106-day lockdown that devastated the economy and left seven million unemployed.

The second wave of coronavirus infections began in early January and has caused hospitals to collapse and intensive care beds have thousands on a waiting list.

Peru, a country of 33 million inhabitants, has not yet received vaccines. Over 40,000 people have been reported to have died and more than a million have been confirmed infected with COVID-19.