Peru police break up alleged scam charging huge sums for Covid ICU beds

Reuters in Lima
Thu 22 Jul 2021 14.41 BST

Peruvian police have dismantled an alleged criminal ring that had charged as much $21,000 per bed for seriously ill Covid-19 patients in a state-run hospital, aggravating care in a country hit by one of the world’s deadliest outbreaks of the virus.

Authorities arrested nine people in an early morning raid on Wednesday, including the administrators of Lima’s Guillermo Almenara Irigoyen public hospital, according to prosecutor Reynaldo Abia.

The scam was uncovered after police received a complaint from the brother of a man suffering from Covid-19 who had been asked for 82,000 soles ($20,783) to obtain an intensive care (ICU) bed and treatment at the hospital, said Abia.

The health minister, Óscar Ugarte, told reporters the scam warranted immediate repercussions. “This is totally reprehensible,” he said. “We cannot be negotiating with people’s lives.”

Corruption scandals around virus care have already rattled the highest levels of power in Peru. Outrage over prior allegations that some top officials had been granted preferential “VIP” vaccinations prompted the country’s health and foreign ministers to resign earlier this year.

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