Lima (AFP)

In Peru, one of the countries most bereaved by the pandemic, the Covid-19 seems to have attacked the Diaz family: five of its members have died and four are still hospitalized.

"What has fallen on us is a nightmare. I really do not wish it on anyone," Juan Diaz, a 58-year-old professor told AFP.

In recent weeks, the Covid-19 has taken away his father, Cecilio Diaz, 80, his mother Edith Leyva (77), his brothers Ernesto (54) and Willy (42), and his sister Maribel (53).

"We were seven brothers and sisters, like the seven days of the week. We lost three," laments Juan, who has also fallen ill, along with his wife and daughter.

Before the virus erupted, seventeen members of this Peruvian middle-class family lived together in a four-story brick house in Chorillos, a neighborhood in southern Lima.

It was in this house that the last family feast was celebrated, on November 22, for Cecilio's 80th birthday. No one imagined then that the nightmare would soon begin.

In addition to the five deaths, four family members are still hospitalized at the Villa Panamericana, the sports village built for the Pan-American Games in Lima in 2019 and since transformed by the authorities into a hospital for the patients of the pandemic.

Peru, a country of 33 million inhabitants, is one of the most bereaved on the planet. He crossed the 500,000 mark on Thursday and has more than 25,000 deaths. The case fatality rate (78 per 100,000 inhabitants) is one of the highest in the world.

The tragedy of the Diaz family began on May 24 with the death of Ernesto, an employee of the town hall of Chorrillos, says Juan.

"My younger brother died two months ago, then my father died, and a week later my sister, who served as his nurse. And again a week later my mother, then the last of my brothers ", he explains.

- "Destroyed" -

"We have been completely destroyed, now it's our turn to rebuild the family with those who remain," adds Juan, himself hospitalized for two weeks at the Villa Panamericana.

Moved, he hugs a frame with a photo of his parents which sits in a room of the house.

The family does not know how she was infected. "The first to die was my father," says Ernesto Diaz, the third generation, who bears the same name as his deceased father.

Aged 32, he explains that he was subsequently infected himself. Then his grandfather Cecilio, who suffered from diabetes, fell ill before dying during his transfer to the hospital.

On July 18, it is Maribel's turn to die. She suffered from asthma and had taken care of her father. Grandmother Edith and her youngest son Willy die ten days later.

In the family home, where a mass was celebrated by videoconference to honor their memory, portraits of the deceased are displayed everywhere.

In the past few weeks, five family members have been declared cured and have been released from the hospital.

Maribel's daughter Julissa Navarro Diaz, 32, was released a few days ago after battling the disease for three weeks.

"It's hard because not only my mom is gone, but also my grandparents, my uncles. My recovery has been a bit slow because of the emotions we had. Say goodbye to them with a picture or just see the hearse was very sad, ”she says.

Not surprisingly, this tragedy also had an economic impact. "It left us almost bankrupt," says Ernesto. "We had to dig into our savings, make loans and ask for help from friends to pay for the care."

"Now we want to get back to normal. Maybe that will never happen, but we have to move on because life goes on."

© 2020 AFP