In Peru, the citadel of Machu Picchu will reopen on March 1 to visitors

The Inca citadel of Machu Picchu, closed since the end of January due to the coronavirus pandemic, will welcome tourists again on Monday

.

[and]

,

an anonymous source from the Peruvian Ministry of Culture told AFP.

Read also: Peru: Machu Picchu closes due to protests against rail service

Closed for almost eight months in 2020, the archaeological site, classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1983, reopened in November, with a tonnage of 2,244 visitors.

But it had to be closed again on January 31, due to a particularly virulent second wave of Covid-19.

On February 24, the Peruvian government decided to lift containment measures in several regions, imposed on around 16 million Peruvians after an upsurge in Covid-19 cases since the end of January.

The country of 33 million inhabitants is one of the most bereaved in Latin America by the epidemic in proportion to its population.

It is also hard hit by the economic consequences of the pandemic.

The gross domestic product (GDP) thus plunged by 11.12% in 2020. The fall was particularly brutal for the tourism sector which experienced a decline of 50.45%, according to official data.