Peru reports 2,929 new coronavirus cases, total soars to 111,698

Amidst the coronavirus pandemic, Peru has reported almost 3,000 new coronavirus cases in a single day. According to reports, the country’s health ministry on may 22 announced 2,929 new cases which took the country’s toll to a total of 111,698 positive cases. The country’s coronavirus death toll stands at 3,244.

As per reports, Peru has the second-highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Latin America, behind Brazil that has reported 330,890 coronavirus cases and over 21,000 deaths.

Helping the indigenous population

According to reports, authorities in Peru recently announced that they will be building a hospital in the Amazon in an effort to respond to the growing coronavirus emergency that threatens to severely effect the indigenous population. As per reports, the state social security body EsSalud claims that the 100-bed hospital will be operational within weeks.

As per reports, the hospital will be built in Pucallpa, capital of the remote Ucayali region, the region borders Brazil. The hospitals in the largest city Iquitos are reportedly already overwhelmed by the sheer number of coronavirus patients and the local morgues have been unable to tackle the number of bodies.

According to reports, the Peruvian government had claimed that it will be sending 220 healthcare workers into the Amazon as reinforcements. In a statement, Prime Minister Gustavo Zeballos said that his government is doing all it can to ensure oxygen and other vital medical materials reach the Amazon via ‘an air and land bridge’. Unfortunately, roads are almost non-existent in the Peruvian Jungle, aking aid deliveries that much more difficult. In order to tackle this problem, the government has vowed to increase the number of flights from Lima to ensure aid deliveries.

Read: Coach And 10 Players At Peruvian Club Have Coronavirus

Read: Vizcarra: Peru Has Already Reached Virus Peak

Back on May 13, Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra in a news conference said that the deadly coronavirus pandemic had reached its peak in Peru and that the government expected the rate of new coronavirus cases to slowly decrease. The Amazon city of Iquitos, near the Brazilian border, is one of the hardest hits, with many doctors and nurses infected.

The coronavirus has now claimed 338,249 lives worldwide as of May 23. According to the tally by international news agency, the pandemic has infected at least 5,213,991 people.

Read: Peru To Construct A Fast-build Hospital In Amazon To Help Coronavirus Patients

Read: As Virus Swamps Peru, Venezuelan Migrants Collect The Dead