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News > Peru

Peru: 1,300 Police Officers Are Infected With Coronavirus

  • Person walks in the Shipibo Konibo slum, Lima, Peru, March 31, 2020.

    Person walks in the Shipibo Konibo slum, Lima, Peru, March 31, 2020. | Photo: EFE

Published 25 April 2020
Opinion

Corruption scandals and 20 dead police officers prompted the Interior Minister's resignation.

Peru's President Martin Vizcarra Friday appointed Gaston Rodriguez as Interior Minister to replace Carlos Moran, who admitted that no less than 1,300 police had contracted the SARS-CoV-2 virus and 20 officers had died since the mandatory quarantine began on March 16.

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In the last week, the Peruvian Police carried out some 24,000 rapid tests among its members, but some officers had to wait long hours at the Police Hospital to get samples taken.

Precisely the Police Hospital was another of the controversial issues since it is currently at the limit of its capacity, as admitted by the Police director-general Jose Luis Lavalle.

During this emergency, alleged cases of corruption with public purchases by the Police also came to light.

One of them is a simulated acquisition of 700,000 masks worth US$2.42 million to a company that was not specialized in the health sector.

Amid the COVID-19 crisis, President Vizcarra also decided to designate Victor Zamora as Health Minister to replace Elizabeth Hinostroza, who was dismissed after it was known that the delay in delivering the results of COVID-19 tests caused the death of a person.

As of Saturday morning, Peru had reported 21,648 COVID-19 cases and 634 dead. In this South American country, the first case of coronavirus contagion was detected on March 6.​​​​​​​

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