Журнал. World association for medical law. The COVID-19 pandemic. Volume 39 2

275 Medicine and Law having the most restrictive quarantine in Latin America 19 . The rate of infection in Peru, at that time, was 3, namely one infected person infected three others 20 . This nationwide mandatory social isolation was a great challenge for Peru, a country with an estimated population of 32,824,358 inhabitants 21 . As of 2020, 20.5% of Peruvian population is at, or below, the poverty line, equivalent to 6.5 million Peruvians, and 2.8% are in extreme poverty 22 . Peru’s tough response was reasonable when considering the country’s health structure deficits. On March 6 2020, when the first case of infection was announced, there were only 100 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds available nationwide 23 and on March 15 there were 276 ICU beds available –Peru was actively increasing its supply of ICU beds, to adapt to the spread of COVID-19. This was aggravated by the fact that the number of physicians and nursing professionals was low 24 ; aMinistry of Health study, published in September 2019, reported that the number of medical doctors and nurses per 10,000 inhabitants was only 13.6 and 15.6 25 respectively. This was worrying when compared to infected and no deaths had been recorded as a result of COVID-19. This news can be seen at https://www.gob.pe/institucion/minsa/noticias/108935-comunicado-oficial-de-prensa- coronavirus-n-12 19 This news can be seen at https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-america-latina-51924224 20 This information was given by the Peruvian President, Engr. Martin Vizcarra, at a press conference. The video can be seen at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bm-LOzlzNE4 21 Peruvian National Institute of Statistics and Informatics (INEI in Spanish). Demographic Analysis Bulletin No. 37. PERU: Population Estimates and Projections by Province, Sex, and Five-Year Age Groups 1995-2025. Lima 2009. p. 53. 22 On the basis of the provincial and district monetary poverty map published by the Peruvian National Institute of Statistics and Information. Lima, February 2020. P. 33 and subsequent. Monetary poverty is considered for people who survive on less than S/ 344 per month, which is equivalent to less than US$ 100; the report can be seen at https://www.inei.gob. pe/media/MenuRecursivo/publicaciones_digitales/Est/Lib1718/Libro.pdf 23 This information was given by the Peruvian President at a press conference. This video can be seen at https://canaln.pe/actualidad/martin-vizcarra-ahora-se-puede-atender-hasta-500- personas-que-lleguen-cuidados-intensivos-coronavirus-n410101. 24 The evolution of the number of health professionals mentioned above nationwide during the five years (2013-2018) is shown in Table No. 1. The information is from the Statistical Compendium of Human Resources Information in the Health Sector, Peru 2013-2018. General Directorate of Health Staff of the Ministry of Health. September 2019. P.30. 25 The number of medical doctors and nurses per 10,000 inhabitants between 2013 and 2018 is shown in Table No. 2. The information is from Statistical Compendium of Human Resources Information in the Health Sector, Peru 2013-2018 General Directorate of Health Staff of the Ministry of Health. September 2019. The Table 1 shows the evolution of the number of these professionals nationwide during this five-year period. P.22