1,300 police officers infected in Peru with coronavirus and 17 deaths
Kanako Itamae and Lee Jay Walker
Modern Tokyo Times
The coronavirus (Covid-19) lockdown in Peru is taking a heavy toll on the police. Hence, with 17 dead police officers and over 1,300 being infected then clearly this needs addressing.
Complaints had been pointed at Carlos Morán, the Interior Minister, for not protecting police officers. This relates to not providing masks, other protective clothes, and adequate health care. Therefore, Morán had no option but to resign because of mounting anger.
The government was forced to address the issue because the rate of infections is shockingly high. In total, the current known infections of coronavirus in Peru are 27,517. Thus with police officers accounting for over 1,300 infections, then this indicates a complete failure to protect the police.
With 17 police officer deaths out of a total death toll of 728, then this highlights the severity of the situation. At the moment, it isn’t known if family members or friends have died because of becoming infected by police officers.
Gaston Rodriguez, the new Interior Minister, is intent on tackling the situation. Hence, he promises to provide over 200,000 Covid-19 tests for the police force by early May. Similarly, money is to be spent on protective measures including gloves, masks, and other essentials.
Rodriguez uttered, “We have an obligation to take care of them… The police must be well equipped.”
The BBC reports, “The new interior minister said his department had allocated $15m (£12m) to purchase protective equipment for police.”
The police have been enforcing the lockdown since the middle of March. Yet, police officers haven’t been adequately protected for the coronavirus crisis. Therefore, with 17 deaths and over 1,300 infected police officers, the government is finally taking action.
However, why did the government take so long to address such an important issue?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-52432216
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