Sweeping Covid-19 lockdown in Peru as virus cases soar

Sixteen million Peruvians will enter a two-week coronavirus lockdown covering a third of the country at the end of January, Peru's interim president said. The South American nation's healthcare system has been overwhelmed by the Covid-19 pandemic -- with only 500 intensive care beds for a population of 32 million -- with authorities reporting a spike in deaths as infections increase. The country's lockdown will run from January 31 to February 14, interim president Francisco Sagasti said in a televised address, blaming the soaring Covid infections on end-of-year gatherings.