Peruvian President Martín Vizcarra announced that the focused quarantine will be in effect only in the provinces of Abancay (Apurímac), Huamanga (Ayacucho) and Huánuco (Huánuco) beginning October 1.
He also announced that this measure will be completely lifted, also from October 1, in the regions of Cusco, Moquegua, Puno and Tacna. In those regions the mandatory social immobilization will be maintained on Sundays, as provided for in the Supreme Decree approved by the Executive and that will be published tomorrow in the official newspaper El Peruano.
In a press conference held at the Government Palace after the meeting of the Council of Ministers, the president recalled that of the 196 provinces that Peru has, the targeted quarantine began this month with 79 provinces, a figure that was progressively reduced as the incidence of infections, hospitalizations and deaths in the localities decreased.
“As we saw that the curve was descending and we saw that the level of contagion in various provinces decreased, we dropped to 58 provinces (with targeted quarantine),” he said.
After indicating that the impact of the pandemic is decreasing in the provinces of Abancay, Huamanga and Huánuco, where the focused quarantine will still be in force and it is expected that as the health report shows positive figures, the measure will surely also be lifted in those locations .
“In these three provinces the curfew begins at 8 at night, while in the rest of the country it is in effect from 11 at night. Likewise, in these three provinces the compulsory social immobilization will continue on Sundays all day, ”he explained.
The head of state also affirmed that this restriction also applies to the departments of Cusco, Moquegua, Puno and Tacna, where the targeted quarantine has been lifted. “The rest of the country can mobilize on Sundays, although the transit of private vehicles is prohibited, as well as social gatherings and family visits,” he emphasized.
RESUMPTION OF PHASE 4 ACTIVITIES
President Vizcarra also announced that phase 4 of the economic reactivation will begin, in part, on October 1.
“Phase 1 began in May, June and July followed, and now, as of October, we are already partially beginning phase 4,” he said.
“In these last activities (which will be resumed with phase 4) it is necessary to be quite careful to generate sources of work, from economic activities, but continuing with the results that we have been achieving in the reduction of infected, hospitalized and deceased people such as consequence of covid-19 ”, he added.
Vizcarra explained that the Council of Ministers approved the supreme decree that approves the start of phase 4 of the reactivation, but that it does not include all the activities that have yet to be resumed.
“We are responsible, there are some activities that were in phase 4 that we are not yet considering to start. Unfortunately, those (activities) that concentrate people and are high risk cannot be restarted (such as bars, discos and cinemas),” he said.
President Vizcarra indicated that there are other activities that can be carried out in phase 4, and there are even some that were already authorized, but that will function with greater capacity.
“For example, the stores had a maximum capacity of 50%, and since we see that the curve (of infections) is decreasing, we are increasing the capacity to 60%. Restaurants and related services had a maximum capacity of 40% and now we are increasing to 50% ”, he said.
“The transport of passengers by rail, maritime transport and passenger cabotage is being authorized. And something very important, we are authorizing the start of passenger transport, by air, on international flights as of October 5,” he added.
These flights will be to nearby countries in the region, with all the corresponding protocols — “safe destinations from the health point of view.”
The President explained that among the activities that will begin to be reactivated from October are travel agencies and tour operators in places where they are authorized.
“Art, entertainment and recreation services with health care, according to protocol, the capacity is increased to 60%. There it is included that activities are allowed in theme parks, such as the Parque de las Aguas in Lima, ”he said.
“Likewise, individual sports activities or in pairs, not collective, are being allowed with a maximum capacity of 50% in public and private facilities. But there cannot be an audience in the stands, that is still prohibited, because there cannot be crowds, “he added.
[Obviously, there will be a LOT more details to be released. I’ll be updated on the COVID update page as often as soon as I learn more.]
Monthly Archives: September 2020
Cusco Walk Photo Gallery
When I get really bored, but am too lazy to walk up into the mountains, I wander around Cusco just looking for sights that I haven’t seen before and opportunities to experience places I know from a different perspective.
The last couple of days I’ve done a little bit of that and thought I’d share some photos I took while “out and about.”
It’s amazing how empty the streets are right now. 
Most people don’t realize the wall along the right side was once part of the Casana — the greatest Inca palace (belonging to Huayna Capac) on Cusco’s central plaza along the Rio Saphy. 
I need to read a little more of Jean-Pierre Protzen to have a better understanding of these marks. 
What a magnificent day it was. Can you spot the line of three cathedrals stretching off into the distance? 
To be honest, the scariest place in Cusco right now is this block on Calle Tres Cruces. It’s the only place I’ve found in the city where social distancing is at a premium. 
Vendors line the railroad tracks along Av Ejercito selling their wares. 
There are so many beautiful carved doors spread out all over the city. 
The old school just above the Plaza de Armas will celebrate it’s 400th birthday next year! 
Peatonal Siete Culebras (“Seven Snakes”) 
For some reason, I love the old side door on the Iglesia San Blas. 
Normally one of the busiest streets in barrio is Cuesta San Blas, it’s often empty now. 
I was surprised at how many people were relaxing in the Plaza de Armas as the sun began to set below the distant mountains. 
Another beautiful but surprisingly empty street, Calle San Antonio, with it’s spectacular Inca walls on the right. 
Something about this window… 
I’ve walked past this door at least a hundred times and never noticed that it was actually framed by the remant of a centuries old Inca wall.
Inca Stonework
This morning I hiked up into the mountains above my apartment and finally did some filming in a really amazing place where dozens of Inca stonework is on massive rocks is scattered above the valley as if some giant moved them about like toys.
There doesn’t seem to be an pattern up there which is why I think it’s likely an unfinished site. (Most of the sites in the immediate area seem unfinished.)
Eventually I will add these scenes to others I’ve been shooting in this area into a longer video project that I’ve been working on for some time with a specific theme that I’m not ready to share yet.
Please let me know what you think!
Photos from the Amaru Marcawasi area
The continuing pandemic and the resulting quarantine that we have been under for most of the past 6 months makes it very difficult to get out and hike in the mountains, but fortunately does allow for some exercise.
For me, that has meant climbing up the ancient Inca road in the mountains behind my apartment and visiting the Inca complex surrounding Amaru Marcawasi — commonly referred to as Templo de la Luna (Temple of the Moon).
I’ve been exploring all over the area and am working on gathering evidence to support a hypothesis that it has nothing at all to do with the moon, but instead is very clearly related to a more important aspect of Inca life. (More on that at a later date.)
Most people don’t realize just how many sites there are in the immediate area — all of which are interconnected by one common theme that dominates throughout. A tremendous number of constructions such as walls, roads, and water channels also exist in the immediate area.
For the past three days I’ve wandered all over the area and, despite not even beginning to explore everywhere, I’ve found a lot of stuff that probably very very few people know about.
Unfortunately, the bright sun yesterday made it almost impossible to get decent photos and the rain the day before sent me hurrying home. These pics are just a little collection of random shots taken while exploring the area. There is no pattern. They’re just pics that I like!
One of the really interesting sites in the area is the small lake just west of Amaru Marcawasi that few people outside of locals seem to even know exists.
The lake has straight borders, all of which are still lined with stone and include several places where steps allow access to the water below. The bottom is full of silt and one day I hope to return and find out just how deep it originally was when constructed by the Incas.
On the north there is a cut-out where the water came into the lake likely from an aqueduct that still exists just above which redirected the watershed. The water likely flowed into the lake as a fountain.
Sadly, one of the negative happenings during the pandemic is the destruction of the eucalyptus forest to the north of Amaru Marcawasi. Loggers have been cutting everything down for awhile now. You can see in the photos below how much has disappeared. The singe advantage is that now the Chukimarka site is easily visible.
I have a strong feeling that Amaru Marcawasi was not even close to being completed. The crudity of much of the construction indicates that perhaps many of the buildings were, in fact, housing for workers.
However, there is some highly sophisticated stonework already existing that indicates the importance of the site. All around the area is a scattering of stonework that seems to indicate that there was a lot more construction planned.
At one possible site to the north along the road to the rarely visited site Chuspiyoq which lies about halfway between Amaru Marcawasi and Puka Pukara/Tambomachay, there is a considerable amount of stonework seeming scattered across the hillside. Some of these included intricate carving of water channels that are out of place in the current locations and obviously were intended to be moved somewhere else.
One of the interesting sites is in the lower watershed just north of Amaru Marcawasi. A set of steps leads down to a gap in a wall that sits quite high above the stream. Presently, the steps are very high (nearly 1m) above the stream which is dry much of the year, but it’s possible that erosion over the centuries has caused the river bottom to drop considerably.
While not as intricate as at other sites, the fact that the lower wall has survived for centuries in this riverside spot is a testament to the engineering skills of it’s Inca builders.
There is one area of the site that can best be described as having a variety of interesting carvings that are reminiscent of a modern art gallery. Curves, gnomons, and dozens of channels (natural or cut?) create a very large maze that is very hard to describe. Below is my favorite stone photographed from two directions.
Don’t read much into all this. This post is meant to be nothing more than a collection of interesting photos with some commentary.
Finding real research on the site and the area is extremely difficult. As with much of the Cusco valley, there has been a surprising lack of study until the last few decades. I’ve been amazed at how much of what is considered fact actually comes from highly questionable post-Inca colonial sources or relatively recent mythology.
If you go exploring up there, please keep in mind that this is still a living, breathing Andean world that in many ways is not much different from what it was centuries ago.
Please feel free to leave a comment below. I love to hear what people think! If you like this, you can share this page with the links below or even subscribe so that you’ll be notified when I post again. (I don’t sell anything here, so you don’t have to worry about that.)
Video: Inca Lake near Cusco’s Templo de la Luna
I shot this little video this morning. My intention was to go even farther up into the mountains, but really didn’t feel too energetic so I stopped to get a few photos of the Inca lagoon a short distance from the Templo de la Luna (Temple of the Moon) and realized that it was a very cool place that I hadn’t really explored before.
Unfortunately, researching information about this lake is proving to be a real challenge, but I think it is a lot more important that is known. (I’m working on that hypothesis about the entire area and will report more later.)