The Government of Peru announced in May the reactivation of its economy in four phases. Each one would last approximately one month; that is, the first stage concluded in May, the second in June, the third in July; while, the fourth phase would conclude at the end of this month.
In the first phase of the reactivation of the Peruvian economy, activities related to the mining, industry, construction, services, tourism and commerce sectors were resumed. Likewise, during this stage, the economy worked at 72%, since around 1.4 million workers returned to their activities and around 13,253 companies were authorized at that time to restart their activities.
The second phase began on June 22, when the Executive Branch expanded the list of permitted economic activities in the areas of manufacturing, commerce and services. There were 28 new types of business included, which allowed a contribution to the National GDP of almost 9%; and, it was estimated by then, almost 160 thousand jobs. The economy in this stage reached 91%, which would represent around 3 million jobs incorporated since the beginning of the first phase.
As of July 1, and with the end of the total quarantine in the minority of departments, the third phase began, which included 60 types of activities and opened all commercial stores. So, by the end of July, economic activities were incorporated approximately 96%.
On the other hand, interprovincial transport was allowed, being still restricted in the regions that presented quarantine; however, days later, they would be suspended in 20 provinces and five regions of the country due to crowds and informalities.
Phase four has been postponed, since it would imply a serious risk to give the green light to tourism and entertainment services at present, due to the present outbreak that has been manifesting in the country. Among the activities included in this phase are the reopening of gyms, cinemas, discos and the restart of international flights.
It is expected that, to lift the economy, the authorities will take preventive measures in order to eliminate the existing recession caused by the pandemic, since the GDP since March has been negative; and that, in turn, these allow economic activities to continue developing and Peru to achieve positive numbers regarding its economy.