No tourist will be able to visit the citadel of Machu Picchu (Peru) from January 31 to February 14 at a minimum.

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Greg Vaughn / VWPics / SIPA

Tourists will no longer be welcome at the Inca Citadel of Machu Picchu.

It will again close for at least two weeks as Peru faces a second wave of the coronavirus, the government said on Wednesday.

Machu Picchu, a world heritage since 1983, reopened to visitors in November with a reduced size after a total closure of nearly eight months.

This radical measure does not apply only to this tourist spot.

According to a decree published in the Official Journal, all archaeological sites in the country "will receive zero visits" between January 31 and February 14.

Over 40,000 dead

"The economic consequences are difficult for the whole district, the measures are very restrictive", reacted Darwin Baca, the mayor of Machu Picchu, a village located not far from the citadel, referring in particular to the 6,000 people who are directly employed in the tourism sector.

Peru, like many other Latin American countries, has been facing a second epidemic wave since the end of December.

On Tuesday, he crossed the 40,000 dead mark after recording 220 deaths in the last 24 hours, a higher since the peak of the first epidemic wave between July and September 2020. In total, he recorded 1.1 million of reported cases.

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Coronavirus in Peru: Machu Picchu reopens ... for a single tourist

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Coronavirus in Peru: Machu Picchu reopens after eight months of closure

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