Peru extends protracted national lockdown until end of June

FILE PHOTO: Peruvian soldiers stand at the border between Peru and Bolivia after Peru's government's announcement of the border closure in a bid to slow the spread of the new coronavirus (COVID-19), in Desaguadero, Bolivia, March 17, 2020. REUTERS/David Mercado/File Photo

LIMA (Reuters) - Peru on Friday extended its state of emergency and a nationwide lockdown to fight the coronavirus pandemic until the end of June, marking one of the longest periods of mandatory isolation in the world.

The Andean nation, which began the lockdown in mid-March, will have lived under it for more than 3-1/2 months by a June 30 expiration, outlasting restrictions in Italy, Spain and China, some of the hardest hit countries in the pandemic.