During the past epidemiological week (EW-31), 309 deaths from COVID-19 were registered, the
It means that nearly 45 people lost their lives due to the dreaded disease every day —most of them older adults who were unvaccinated or had not completed their doses.
The number of deaths in the South American country increased for eight consecutive weeks, climbing from 64 in June to 309 in August, which represents a rise of nearly 500%,
EsSalud Executive-President Gino Davila indicated.
The official specified that 335 SARS-CoV-2 victims were registered last June —a figure that increased to 853 in July.
Meanwhile, 636 people lost their lives during the first half of August, thus accounting for 74% of the number of deaths recorded in July.
Hospitalizations
The EsSalud head indicated that there are currently 1,229 people hospitalized for coronavirus, while 264 patients are fighting for their lives on ICU beds nationwide.
It must be noted that 55,682 new cases were registered nationwide during epidemiological week 31, which represented a decrease of 16.5% compared to the amount reported the previous week.
Meanwhile, he pointed out that there was an increase in infections in four Peruvian regions for second consecutive week —as was the case of Puno, where infections increased from 775 to 977; Ica (from 1,377 to 1,704); Huancavelica (from 438 to 467); and Tacna (from 633 to 639).
Age groups
During epidemiological week 31, the highest number of cases was registered in the age group made up of adults (30- to 59-year-olds), with 30,649 citizens infected, followed by the group of young adults (18- to 29-year-olds), with 11,117 cases.
Regarding older adults (60-year-old and over), the report shows that 9,770 new infections were registered in this age group the past week.
"
We are still in a fourth wave of the pandemic. Therefore, we shall not let our guard down. We must continue wearing facemasks, washing our hands, maintaining social distancing, and most importantly, let's complete our vaccination schedule," he concluded.