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The ministry announced 25 new deaths over the previous 24 hours, taking the South American country over the symbolic threshold with 200.003 deaths since the pandemic started in March 2020.
The Andean country of 33 million has also recorded 2.2 million infections.
With 6,065 deaths per million population, Peru's Covid mortality rate is the highest in the world, according to an AFP count based on official data.
The news comes at a time of falling daily cases and deaths attributed to the increase in vaccinations, although authorities remain worried about a potential new wave of infections due to the Delta variant that is now predominant in the country.
"We're maintaining a high level of control," health minister Hernando Cevallos said recently.
"It is probable that the first and second waves have generated immunity in part of the population, as has vaccination."
The fall in infections has allowed the government to relax some healthcare measures and reactivate parts of the economy.
The nighttime curfew has been reduced to just two hours while restaurants are now allowed to operate at full capacity.
Peru's number of deaths is only surpassed in Latin America by Brazil and Mexico, although those countries' populations are almost seven and four times greater respectively.
Before the pandemic, Peru enjoyed one of the most dynamic economies in the region but in 2020 GDP fell by 11 percent and more than 2.1 million people lost their jobs as Peru entered recession.
"We need to get vaccinated so there is no more sadness in homes and no more orphans," Mirtha Garcia Espinoza, a 39-year-old mother of two widowed by the pandemic, told AFP.
Peru's virus death rate has been falling since April when it reached 2,500 a week.
Last week that was down to 169, according to official figures.
Experts blame Peru's problems on its large informal economy and an ineffective healthcare system.
The government hopes to vaccinate 70 percent of its population over 12 by the end of the year.
More than 14.2 million people have so far received both vaccination doses, accounting for 51 percent of those aged over 12.
© 2021 AFP
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Charlie Kirk's TPUSA may not have a future -- thanks to their relationship with Trump: report
October 23, 2021
In a deep dive looking at the explosive growth of conservative youth group Turning Point USA and figurehead Charlie Kirk, the Guardian reveals that GOP insiders wonder about its long-term viability after attaching itself so closely to Donald Trump.
According to the Guardian's Peter Stone, the group founded in 2012 by the 18-year-old Kirk has seen its revenues jump from $4.3 million in 2016 to almost $39.8 million in 2020 and that has some people concerned about the path they are taking.
As Stone explained, "The emerging strength and roles of TPUSA in the conservative ecosystem- and the rising visibility of its ambitious and hard driving Charlie Kirk – has sparked withering criticism from medical experts and ethics watchdogs, as well as some Republican party operatives."
The report notes that ties between the group and Trump world have grown with Stone reporting, "TPUSA owes a big debt to several fundraising events and meetings with Trump connections, say some Republican consultants. TPUSA held a lavish fundraising gala at Mar-a-Lago in December 2019 that drew Donald Trump Jr and Republican political bigwigs, and Kirk's cachet was palpable at the 2020 Republican convention, where he gushed that Trump was 'the bodyguard of western civilization.'"
According to one GOP insider, "Kirk and TPUSA owe their success largely to Don Jr and Kimberly Guilfoyle. I would often see Kirk and Don Jr hanging out at the Trump hotel restaurant."
That, in turn, has raised concerns about the group's non-profit status as it appears to be a wing of Donald Trump's drive to be re-elected president.
According to one GOP fundraising consultant, "Some GOP donors worry that Kirk's ostensible goals have been corrupted by spending so much time in and around Trump world. Further, people are concerned about the impact of Kirk's prominent support for Trump on his group's tax status."
You can read more here.
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Minnesota GOPer says men charged in Jan. 6 Capitol attack are ‘good family’ who need financial support
October 23, 2021
A GOP state senator on Friday asked his Facebook followers to donate to the legal defense fund of a family facing felony charges in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
State Sen. Mark Koran, R-North Branch, shared the link to an online fundraiser organized by Rosemarie Westbury, whose husband and son, Robert Westbury and Isaac Westbury, were charged earlier this month with several counts of civil disorder and assaulting a police officer with a deadly weapon, among other charges. Another family member, Jonah Westbury, was also charged in connection with the storming of the Capitol.
“Here's a local family in Lindstrom who can use some help," Koran wrote. “They attended the Jan 6th Rally and have been accused and charged with a variety of crimes. Some very serious and some which seem to be just to punish opposing views."
He added: “They are a good family!"
Koran did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment on his fundraising plea.
A spokeswoman for Senate Majority Leader Jeremy Miller, R-Winona, also did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment.
Koran's defense of the alleged Lindstrom rioters stands in stark contrast to Minnesota Republicans' frequent law-and-order message, as well as their condemnations of people who destroyed property during the demonstrations and rioting that followed the police murder of George Floyd in May 2020.
Koran was among Republicans who supported enhanced penalties for people charged with attempted murder of a police officer.
Koran, who ran unsuccessfully earlier this year for chair of the Minnesota Republican Party, has not dispelled false assertions that the 2020 election was fraudulent. Pressed by the Reformer last summer on whether President Joe Biden was duly elected, he said: “He's been inserted as the president."
Rosemarie Westbury wrote that her family “is being targeted by this illigitimate (sic), tyrannical government."
So far, she has raised $200 of her $50,000 goal. “We have an attorney who is willing to stand up for us, but this isn't going to be an inexpensive endeavor."
According to the charging documents, Isaac Westbury and Aaron James, another person charged in the case, used a police shield to “forcibly assault, resist, oppose, impede, intimidate and interfere" with an officer. They are also charged with carrying a dangerous weapon into the U.S. Capitol as they allegedly tried to “impede the orderly conduct of government business and official functions."
Robert Westbury faces misdemeanor charges of illegally and knowingly entering the Capitol and trying to disrupt government business and functions.
To date, eight Minnesotans have been charged in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
Minnesota Reformer is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Minnesota Reformer maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Patrick Coolican for questions: info@minnesotareformer.com. Follow Minnesota Reformer on Facebook and Twitter.
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