When is the third wave of COVID-19 expected to end in Peru?

If the cases of COVID-19 and the deaths caused by this virus continue to decline, as has been happening in Peru for weeks, the third wave will end in March, according to estimates by the Ministry of Health (Minsa).

“We are on the verge of finishing the third wave in the coming weeks,” declared Cesar Muncayo, director of Public Health Surveillance of the Minsa in a virtual exhibition on the situation of COVID-19 in the Andean country.

Muncayo explained that if the trend continues at this rate during the month of March, there will be few confirmed cases and, therefore, few hospitalizations and few deaths, so Peru, in his words.

The average infections at the national level are below the level reached in the first wave and minimally above the lowest level of the second wave, which would imply that the end of this third wave decreed on January 5 would be in its last phase.

and the occupancy of ICU beds decreased by 16%, now reaching 57%, while mortality cases are still above the second wave, but below the first.

He also recalled the efficacy of vaccines, since the third dose increases protection against the virus from 35 to 75% and that, despite the downward trend of the main markers, the population should not be neglected.

The third wave was driven by the Omicron variant, which caused infections to skyrocket between December and January, with

Elimination of capacity

In this sense of the good evolution of the data, the Executive decided to eliminate the capacity in establishments as of this Monday, in response to business organizations, especially those related to the hospitality industry.

Thus, restaurants, shops and other establishments will operate with 100% capacity and it is estimated that sales could grow between 35 and 40%.

Latest data from Peru and the region

According to the latest data provided by the Minsa, during February 26, 3,587 infections were confirmed, 65 hospital discharges were given and 34 people died, a figure that makes the total number of deaths from the virus rise to 210,538, thus being the country with the highest death rate in the world.

As for vaccination, there are already more than 10,358,484 people who have the three doses, out of 33 million inhabitants that Peru has and 1,801,356 children between 5 and 11 years old have already received their vaccine for the return to classes to be held in March, after two years without school.

The number of new cases and deaths from COVID-19 in the Americas has decreased but there are still vulnerable areas such as the Caribbean, said the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) in its latest report on the situation of the pandemic in the region.

Last week there was, that is, 28% less than in the previous week, said the director of PAHO, Carissa Etienne, at a virtual press conference.

The number of deaths from the disease fell for the first time since the beginning of the wave of the Omicron variant and stood at 29,000 (-9% compared to the previous week), it added.

But the situation is uneven and 13 countries and territories registered an increase in deaths and did not reach the World Health Organization (WHO) goal of vaccinating 40% of the population.

Agencies