Coronavirus Hits Peru Hard Despite Strict Lockdown: The country is now fighting one of the worst outbreaks in Latin America outside of Brazil

By Ryan Dube of The WSJ. Excerpt:

"But the government also recognizes that some policies were a mistake, including the order determining what days women and men could leave their homes, which was shelved in April.

Peruvians backed the stern rules, with pollster Ipsos reporting that 95% of Peruvians approved of the measures. Data from Google showed people stayed home more than residents in Latin America’s other major nations as Lima’s chaotic traffic disappeared overnight.

When people did go out, they often went to the same place. Massive lines formed outside of banks as people waited for government payments intended to help poor families survive the lockdown and shelter at home. About 60% of Peruvians don’t have a bank account, according to the World Bank, forcing them to physically go to a branch to get the cash.

Food markets, where the majority of Peruvians buy their food, became another petri dish for the virus, which spread quickly among poorly ventilated, narrow aisles. Unlike in Europe and the U.S., most people here often buy just enough groceries for a day or two, partly out of custom but also due to a lack of money. Many also can’t store meat and dairy for long in a country where half of homes don’t have refrigerators, according to the government statistics agency.

Instead of managing crowds by extending market hours or creating smaller, temporary places to buy food, authorities limited the time and days to shop, sometimes with little notice.

A couple of days before Easter, Mr. Vizcarra announced a total shutdown over the holiday, catching people off guard as they rushed to markets. Authorities had prohibited delivery services and closed restaurants, even for takeout.

“People were desperate,” said Claudia González, a vendor at a Lima fruit market where 80% of workers have tested positive for Covid-19 as of May, according to the government. “They were jumbled all together and didn’t take precautions to maintain distance.”

Experts say authorities were slow to address the risks at markets, waiting weeks into the lockdown before they started testing workers. Initially, there were few efforts to manage crowds, which increased in the streets outside the markets that attracted throngs of people who had lost their jobs and were selling face masks and vegetables."