Peru, the second country in Latin America with the most cases of coronavirus, added today to the concern of its citizens a controversy generated by the proposal of the Defense Minister, General Walter Martos, to extend until the end of the year the night curfew that governs in the context of measures to contain the pandemic.
Meanwhile, the country set a new record for new infections, with 6,154 in the last 24 hours, according to official data.
Martos revealed last night, in an interview with Channel N television, his initiative to extend the curfew until the end of the year, in order that “law enforcement agencies have greater control of circulation on the streets.”
“If we release the curfew, it means that people can move around at night and do social activities; while as a society we do not have a culture of respect for social distance, we have to continue implementing measures, ”argued the official.
The idea was supported by Nataly Ponce, who was Deputy Minister of Public Security at the Ministry of the Interior in 2018 and rejected by a colleague from Martos, Roberto Chiabra, also a retired Army general and Defense Minister in 2003-05, during the presidency of Alejandro Toledo.
“I consider that it is feasible and necessary to guarantee not only the reduction of the risk of contagion but also public safety; no matter how hard it is necessary, we must bear in mind that we are in an absolutely exceptional situation, ”said Ponce, according to the Lima daily El Comercio.
“It is a defeat; It would mean that we do not have a clear exit strategy that gives a favorable projection to all the effort being made, and also that the government has already lost its capacity to resist and that, seeing that it cannot control the massive departure of the people, the only strategy would be to maintain the curfew, “said Chiabra.
The curfew, which prohibits the movement of people and vehicles at night, was arranged in mid-March, and on several occasions, it was extended and the timetables were changed.
Since last Monday, the curfew has been in force between 21 and 4 in most of the country, and from 18 to 4 in the departments Ica, La Libertad, Lambayeque, Loreto, Piura, Tumbes and Ucayali and in three provinces of the Ancash department.
Peru had 135,905 confirmed cases of coronavirus (6,154 in the last 24 hours) and 3,983 deaths from the disease (195 new ones), the Ministry of Health reported this afternoon.
