After a review, Peru has more than doubled its official Covid-19 death toll, placing the country at the top of the list for the highest death rate per capita, according to Johns Hopkins University data. Peru’s official death toll is now 180,000, double its previously reported figure of 69,342. Peru hosts about 33 million people in total. Prime Minister Violeta Bermudez spoke out about the increase, stating that it was assessed based on the advice of both Peruvian and international experts.
The latest figure was in line with reported excess deaths figures, which are a measure of how many more people are dying than would be expected based on death rates from previous years. The news was released on Monday, six days before the country is set to hold a presidential run-off election that will see leftist Pedro Castillo running against right-wing candidate Keiko Fujimori. Peru has been one of the hardest-hit countries in Latin America when it comes to Covid-19, registering 1.9 infections in total.
