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Peru has begun enforcing strict new measures to stop the spread of the coronavirus disease, restricting public movement by gender.

Men can only leave home on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays; women can do so on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. On Sundays, no-one is allowed out.

Panama introduced similar restrictions earlier this week.

Peru has recorded more than 1,400 confirmed cases of Covid-19 and 55 related deaths.

President Martín Vizcarra said on Thursday that previous control measures had given good results "but not what was hoped for".

Calling for an "extra effort to control this disease", he said the new gender-based restrictions should halve the number of people circulating in public at any one time.

"We have to get fewer people on the streets every day," he added.

The new rules came into effect on Friday and will last until 12 April, when a nationwide lockdown imposed on 16 March is scheduled to be lifted.

Interior Minister Carlos Morán warned that the police and armed forces would be enforcing the new measures.

“On Sunday everyone has to be at home," he said. "Banks will not work and supermarkets, markets and shops will be closed. There will also be no pharmacies. No-one has justification for leaving."

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