The supreme decree that moves Arequipa, Caraveli, and Castilla —provinces in Arequipa region— to extreme alert level came into force on Monday, June 14, due to surges in COVID-19 cases and deaths attributable to the pandemic in such jurisdictions.
In addition to the rise in COVID-19 cases, Arequipa has reported the first Delta (Indian) variant case, which has lured epidemiologists from the
National Health Institute (INS) to the "White City" in order to study the case and determine the appropriate actions to stop its spread.
Among the proposed measures is the enforcement of all-day Sunday curfews.
"Meetings are banned and mandatory social immobility (curfew) will be in force all day on Sundays,"
Prime Minister Violeta Bermudez affirmed when she announced this decision.
In addition, a night curfew will be in place from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. from Monday to Saturday.
As part of the extreme alert level restrictions, businesses will be operating at a lower capacity. Stores selling necessities and restaurants will operate at 40% and 30% capacity, respectively.
It is worth noting that 125 people have died in the region of Arequipa over the past 72 hours due to COVID-19, which makes it the epicenter of the pandemic in Peru, according to the Epidemiology Directorate of the Regional Health Management Office (Geresa) in Arequipa.
Based on the latest figures reported by Geresa, 666 new cases have been diagnosed in the last 24 hours, and the number of Arequipa inhabitants infected with the virus rose to 226,725.
(END) MAO/RMB