The Peruvian government launched house-to-house medical operations in vulnerable neighborhoods in Lima and in provincial territories, seeking to contain an acceleration of the pandemic of the coronavirus.
Emergency medical teams, accompanied by the military and the police, visited more than 800 precarious homes in the Perales neighborhood, at the foot of a desert hill located in the Santa Anita district, in eastern Lima.
Health professionals did rapid coronavirus tests and examined hundreds of neighbors, mostly elderly, on the first day of the ‘Tayta’ operation (which means father, in Quechua).
Similar operations began in the southern regions of Tacna and Ica, in the Andean regions of Ayacucho and Cusco, and in the jungle of Loreto, to reach some 60,000 vulnerable people, according to authorities.
“I already had this disease, but I would have liked that they had listened to me when I called. I have asked for help, you can say, and they have not come” previously, said Erika Gutiérrez, a neighbor of the Perales neighborhood.
“It’s never too late” for those who need a diagnosis, the 58-year-old added.
After conducting the examinations, the 22 emergency teams – each made up of a doctor and a nurse dressed in protective suits and masks – delivered medicines to some sick people.
To those who tested positive for the coronavirus, food was given to them to complete quarantine in their homes.
“It’s good that they can come so they can support us, because sometimes it’s very difficult to know if you’re wrong or not,” said Jenny Porres, 45.
On the first day, the operation reached 3,529 people in 819 homes in Perales, according to authorities.
“Early detection”
Peruvian Defense Minister Jorge Chávez announced that 50 Tayta operations will be carried out in the country in the remainder of the year, with the aim of monitoring some 500,000 vulnerable people.
“Before, these operations were carried out in the capital” only, said Chávez. Now, home care and preventive visits also reach the provinces.
The Peruvian government had been criticized for not providing preventive care services to vulnerable populations.
Peru faces an acceleration of the pandemic, after the mandatory national quarantine was lifted on July 1.
The outbreak led the government eight days ago to restore the Sunday curfew, impose confinement in the provinces and prohibit family and social gatherings. Currently, a third of the Peruvian population is confined.
“When you search, the more you find”
With 33 million inhabitants, Peru is the third in Latin America in deaths from the pandemic (26,834) after Brazil and Mexico. In addition, it is the second in infections (558,420) behind the South American giant.
“These massive campaigns seek containment, early detection of the disease, treatment and isolation of the whole family. That is what we are achieving en masse, ”said the prime minister, Walter Martos, in Government Palace.
For its part, the Ministry of Health explained that these “targeted interventions” seek “to prioritize the care of vulnerable populations,” and are carried out in conjunction with the Social Health Insurance.
These groups are the elderly and people who suffer from diseases, according to the director of Health Networks of the ministry, Antonieta Alarcón.
“The more you search, the more you will find. The idea is to carry out these operations to identify the disease early, we don’t want (more) serious cases ”, he added.
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