Health Minister Hernando Cevallos on Friday revealed that 23 new cases of the
Omicron variant of coronavirus have been reported nationwide, one of them was detected in Moquegua region, bringing the total number of cases in Peru to 332.
"23 new cases of the Omicron variant have been identified and, so far, 332 cases have been reported nationwide. Of these new cases, six were detected in the region of Arequipa, one in Cusco and one in Moquegua," the minister explained.
"This increase indicates that Omicron is going to displace the Delta variant in our country in a short period of time," he added.
Moquegua tackles pandemic in a better way
The health sector's head stressed that Moquegua is tackling the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in better conditions, thanks to the fact that its second dose coverage rate reaches 86.1% and that an important oxygen supply has been secured for hospitals.
"In the case of Moquegua, there is an element that is important to highlight: the vaccination, which helped prevent significant
mortality in this region of the country.
With the (second dose coverage) rate at 86.1%, Moquegua becomes one of the most vaccinated regions in the country," he remarked.
Third dose
However, the government official clarified that having received two doses of the vaccine does not prevent people from being infected with the Omicron variant or becoming reinfected.
"What kind of protects us is
the booster dose, which increases protection to 75%," he noted.
In this regard, the Cabinet member said that coverage of third dose is relatively low in Moquegua, with fewer than 130,000 people inoculated. Thus, Cevallos urged the population to go to the immunization centers to get the booster dose and complete their vaccine series.
"The vaccination teams continue to vaccinate and provide molecular and antigen tests throughout the country, as well as in Moquegua, as stipulated by the Regional Health Directorate," he said.
His remarks were made during a press conference following a decentralized session of the Council of Ministers held in Moquegua region.
(END) LZD/RMB/MVB
Publicado: 7/1/2022