The Peruvian State is using its full capacity to face the COVID-19 pandemic and meet the health needs of the population. To do so, it plans to have 1,000 beds in Intensive Care Units and carry out 12,000
tests a day, President Martin Vizcarra affirmed.
"We have gone from completing 1,000 to around 9,000 tests per day this week. Experts say that 12,000 are required to keep track of this disease, and we hope to achieve this target next week. By doing so, we will monitor how the virus evolves and explore ways to control it," he said.
Additionally, the Head of State explained that it was understandable to observe an increase in the number of COVID-19 positive cases, since the more tests, the more confirmed cases.
Mr. Vizcarra stated that, so far, the infection curve is in line with expectations, that is, the number of confirmed cases doubles every five days, but coronavirus positive cases are expected to double every 7 or 8 days as the number of daily tests increases and reaches 12,000 the following week.
According to the top official, at the beginning of the epidemic, there were 100 beds in Intensive Care Units (ICU), equipped with mechanical fans, which would have been insufficient if the Government had not adopted measures such as the state of emergency, as well as the social isolation and immobilization across the territory.
On this occasion, the President was joined by Health Minister Victor Zamora and Social Health Insurance System (EsSalud) Executive-President Fiorella Molinelli. The event was held at San Isidro Labrador Hospital in Lima's Ate district.
Saturday marked the twenty-seventh day of mandatory social isolation.
(END) RGP/RGP/RMB
Published: 4/12/2020