Machu Picchu unions have since Monday protested the reopening, saying that allowing tourists in the region would cause a spike in infections.
Peruvian officials announced last week that the citadel would be allowed to reopen to a sharply reduced number of daily visitors: only 675 per day, one-quarter the usual number. Guides would lead tours of only seven visitors and people would be required to wear masks. The planned July reopening was linked to a lifting of national confinement measures in place since March 16, Cusco regional governor Paul Benavente said.
Airports in Peru remain closed and many shops are shuttered. But despite some of Latin America’s earliest and most stringent measures, the country has logged the second-highest number of cases in the region, at 250,000, along with nearly 8,000 deaths.