Sharjah24 – AFP: Peru, which has the world's highest Covid-19 death rate per capita, has surpassed 200,000 deaths from the coronavirus, the health ministry said on Friday.
The ministry announced 25 new deaths over the previous 24 hours, taking the South American country over the symbolic threshold with 200.003 deaths since the pandemic started in March 2020.
The Andean country of 33 million has also recorded 2.2 million infections.
With 6,065 deaths per million population, Peru's Covid mortality rate is the highest in the world, according to an count based on official data.
The news comes at a time of falling daily cases and deaths attributed to the increase in vaccinations, although authorities remain worried about a potential new wave of infections due to the Delta variant that is now predominant in the country.
"We're maintaining a high level of control," health minister Hernando Cevallos said recently.
"It is probable that the first and second waves have generated immunity in part of the population, as has vaccination."
The fall in infections has allowed the government to relax some healthcare measures and reactivate parts of the economy.
The nighttime curfew has been reduced to just two hours while restaurants are now allowed to operate at full capacity.
Peru's number of deaths is only surpassed in Latin America by Brazil and Mexico, although those countries' populations are almost seven and four times greater respectively.
More than 14.2 million people have so far received both vaccination doses, accounting for 51 percent of those aged over 12.
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