Peru extends state of emergency due to COVID-19 amid fourth wave

LIMA, July 28 (Xinhua) -- Peru extended a state of emergency on Thursday over the COVID-19 pandemic amid a fourth wave.

The decision extends emergency conditions for another 28 days as of Aug. 1.

"The national state of emergency will be extended due to the serious circumstances that affect the lives and health of people as a result of COVID-19," the official newspaper "El Peruano" said.

Peru remains on alert amid the new wave, seeing an average of 11,000 new cases a day last week, official figures showed.

The Health Ministry has issued 80,336,753 vaccines, of which 68.6 percent correspond to a third dose and 17.4 percent to a fourth.

According to the World Health Organization, Peru saw 14,186 new infections and 41 deaths from the disease on Thursday, for a total of 3,873,702 cases and 214,120 deaths.