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News > Peru

Peru: Poor People Undertake Exodus to Their Home Towns

  • Travelers rest on the Ramiro Priale road, Lima, Peru, April 20, 2020.

    Travelers rest on the Ramiro Priale road, Lima, Peru, April 20, 2020. | Photo: Twitter/ @peru21noticias

Published 24 April 2020
Opinion

Lack of employment and income makes it difficult for informal workers to survive in big cities.

Hundreds of Peruvians Friday continue to leave Lima city on foot towards their home towns after they ran out of resources during the quarantine.

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After Peru's President Martin Vizcarra decreed the cessation of activities on April 12, many citizens were left without jobs and income to survive.

In a city with millions of inhabitants like Lima, the quarantine has been forcing street vendors and other informal workers to search for alternative ways of living in other territories.

Among them are rural areas where housing and food costs are more affordable. On April 22, for example, over 200 people started a 613-mile trek back to Piura. 

Many of them are still waiting for the Peruvian government to help them with some form of transportation.

"Lima, Peru: migrants leaving cities closed by the pandemic undertake an exodus to their communities."

The same type of exodus happens in Cusco where about 20,000 people want to leave this city, as the local government web page registered.

The Ministers' Council President Vicente Zeballos stated that 3,579 citizens, who were tested for COVID-19 before leaving Lima, have already returned to 10 different interior regions.

This exodus could cause, however, a massive spread of the virus because of crowding and lack of hygiene among travelers.

So far, Peru registers 20,914 COVID-19 cases, 572 deaths, and 7,422 recoveries​​​​​​​. ​​​​

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