Ecuador to reopen Peru border from Friday after fall in COVID cases

Ecuador's government said it has agreed to reopen its land border with Peru from Friday after nearly two years of closure, following a fall in cases of COVID-19. Ecuador, like many countries, closed its land borders in mid-March 2020 to try and curb the spread of the disease.

Ecuador's government said it has agreed to reopen its land border with Peru from Friday after nearly two years of closure, following a fall in cases of COVID-19.

Ecuador, like many countries, closed its land borders in mid-March 2020 to try and curb the spread of the disease. "We have agreed with the Peruvian government to reopen the border between our two countries," Ecuadorean foreign minister Juan Carlos Holguin told journalists on Thursday. "The reopening of the southern border is complete."

Ecuador has been gradually reopening its land border with Colombia since December. Ecuador has registered 810,000 COVID-19 cases and more than 35,000 confirmed or probable deaths form the disease, according to health ministry figures. Some 84% of the 16 million people eligible for vaccination in the country are now immunized.