Peru's Health Min: Let's take the decrease in daily deaths with caution, no time to relax

"We cannot be triumphalist (...). In epidemiology, the figures can change at any time," she stressed at Air Group No. 8 before leaving for the southern city of Tacna.

The high-ranking official considered that the reduction could be due to various factors, such as the fact that citizens are increasingly taking prevention measures against COVID-19 more seriously, as well as restrictions such as curfew during nighttime and all day long each Sunday.

Likewise, the Cabinet member highlighted the efforts undertaken to recover the primary care level and —from there— provide care through the Territorial Aid Operation for Treatment and Isolation in Response to COVID-19 (Tayta Operation).

"In the last four or five weeks, we have evaluated about 120,000 people. We are trying to reactivate the primary care level, it is not easy. Thanks to the support of the Social Health Insurance System (EsSalud) and the Tayta strategy, we are assisting not only the elderly but all those who need help," she expressed.

Dr. Mazzetti also took cautiously the ranking which indicates that Peru is the country with the highest number of deaths per 100,000 inhabitants.

She said that two factors explain this: Peru considers as dead from COVID-19 any person who dies from an unknown cause. In addition, Peru relies on the National Death Registry Information System (Sinadef) of the Health Ministry (Minsa), "which is one of the best record systems in Latin America."

Afterwards, Minister Mazzetti travelled to Tacna to inspect the fight against COVID-19 in that region, where Minsa, the regional government and municipalities deploy primary care for early detection and medical support to those infected by the disease. It also aims to expand hospital capacity. 

The Minsa head said that there is a debt with Tacna because —in the first months of the pandemic— the region provided mechanical ventilators to other areas of the country in crisis, and now the country has started to return them.