Nurses spend a month inside coronavirus hospital in Peru

After a month of work, some nurses in Peru left a specialized hospital for people infected with the new coronavirus.

The health workers have a week-long leave before they're scheduled to return to the hospital in Lima.

Before departing, they are required to pass two tests conducted in the last week to detect an infection by the virus.

The compound was originally built to host athletes competing in the Panamerican Games in 2019, but the Peruvian government turned it into a COVID-19 specialized hospital.

According to health authorities in Peru, the hospital now tends to 700 infected patients, but the country has reported more than 21,000 cases of COVID-19 and 634 deaths.

For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks.

For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death.