Spanish in Peru after 107-Day Quarantine
Quarantine in Peru: from the beginning
Spanish in Peru after 107-Day Quarantine —
On Friday, March 13th , AMAUTA staff and Spanish teachers went home at the end of a normal workday ready for the weekend.
On Sunday evening, we got the shocking announcement from the president of Peru that we were entering a nationwide quarantine and state of emergency due to the Corona Pandemic with the closure of all borders by land, air and sea.
We suddenly could not leave our homes, could not go to the AMAUTA, and we had to follow a strict and mandatory curfew.
This lockdown would last for 107 days and meant that we had to close the doors to our AMAUTA Spanish school in Cusco for the first time in 19 years.
The quarantine that was imposed in order to prevent the COVID-19 for spreading, meant that we had to cancel all our activities!
We had to make emergency airport pickups, contact students who were traveling to Peru or within Peru, cancel all upcoming reservations, and help our students who were at various homestay families and our very own student residence.
A group of fifteen Spanish students ended up living in our residene the first three weeks of the quarantine with our fantastic staff member Raul, with the support of most other staff: Margaux, Indie, Nury, our interns Naomi and Zofia, and Katy, among others.
The first few days were hectic, and we worked many long days and nights – from our homes – to make the proper preparations. We had to organize transportation for our students to get back from our other AMAUTA School location in the Sacred Valley, check-in about agency concerns, organize housing, reschedule the Spanish classes via Skype and Zoom – thanks to our amazing teachers- and help students stay updated about repatriation flights back home.
After a long three weeks, we got all students and interns home safe and sound.
During April, May and June, we saw some easing of restrictions and the resumption of some services. For detailed information on how the quarantine developed and the regulations that ebbed and flowed since the start, we recommend your read our detailed post about the Coronavirus in Peru and in Latin America.
Post-Quarantine Life
After a long 107 days, the strict and rigid nationwide lockdown ended for most of Peru on June 30, 2020! At the moment of writing (July 9, 2020), Cusco and most regions are now enjoying some more ease and freedom
(except for Arequipa, Ica and a few other regions that are still under a mandatory quarantine because their COVID-19 cases are still increasing).
Peru is now slowly re-starting up the activities and economic life. The use of a mask is mandatory to circulate in public, and there are still many restrictions. Restaurants and shops can work with 40 or 50% of their capacity; overland transport and national flights are expected to start operating on or shortly after July 15.
The Peruvian borders, however, are still closed, and no international flights are arriving in Peru. All big events are suspended until the end of the year, and the schools won’t open till March 2021.
The big question for us is: when will it be possible to open the doors of our Spanish School to welcome our students? When will tourism to Peru be back? Unfortunately, this is not yet possible to answer this question.
COVID-10 Statistics in PeruPeru now has the second-highest number of cases in all of Latin America, following behind Brazil. The number of COVID-19 cases remains high; one of the reason is that Peru has undertaken a very active testing program. While the number of cases is high, the death rate is relatively low. Although the situation in Latin America does not look hopeful yet, President Martin Vizcarra affirmed that the rate of infection of the new coronavirus has started to decrease slowly. To this date, Lima continues to be the region with the highest number of Covid-19 infections to date. Cusco is not among the regions with a high number of infections. You can find more about the current numbers of Corona infections in Peru, here. As of July 7, 2020 there were 305,703 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 10, 772 deaths in Peru. Read more about the Coronavirus in Peru in this BBC article. |
AMAUTA Team and What We Do now
Here at AMAUTA, we are so proud of the team for completely adapting to working from home. In March, we quickly made the shift to online Spanish courses, and we are pleased with the results. We have a strong, diverse and intelligent student body. There are new student registrations every day, and our Spanish teachers are staying busy.
| Did you know that ex-AMAUTA students are entitled a special 10% discount on our Online Lessons? There are individual lessons as well as Spanish Conversation classes to speed up your conversation skills, and Spanish group lessons for beginners. |
COVID-19 Protocols
Spanish School Staff Preparedness
When the time is there to open the doors of our Spanish school again, we will be prepared to start the Spanish classes in Cusco in a safe environment for staff and students.
The AMAUTA Spanish School staff are certified in COVID-19 Contact Tracing, and we follow the WHO guidelines in and out of the office. Our staff are also briefed daily on the latest information about COVID-19 from trusted sources (the WHO and local and national health authorities). We wear facemasks; there will be hand and shoe cleaning and a safe distance from others.
Our Spanish teachers will be required to maintain at least 1 meter or 3 feet from the students. We will also be working in larger classrooms, and the number of students allowed per class will reflect the size of the classroom. All of our group classes are limited to a maximum of 6 students.
We are currently planning new supplemental extracurricular activities for our students that take into account COVID-19 safety standards, social distancing, and that avoid crowded areas.
For more information about our health and hygiene standard, please visit:
Book Spanish Course with discount
At this point, COVID-19 is still very much active and present in Peru. However, the fact that you cannot travel to Peru now, does not mean that you cannot Book your Spanish course now! If late 2020 is not going to be an option, we hope you all join us in 2021 to learn Spanish in Peru and explore this beautiful country.
In the meanwhile, the people in Peru do need some extra support now. We decided to help, and you can help us to help! How? Keep on reading!
Help the Cusco People
The sudden lockdown in Peru meant that people unable to work. Peru has an informal economy, and most people rely on day-to-day sales. Therefore, many people and families were left stranded, without transportation, access to food, or other basic services to live. Many people from Cusco, who rely on tourism for work, are unemployed and are really struggling to make ends meet.
In order to help combat hunger in our community of Cusco, AMAUTA Spanish School created a fundraiser to help our local soup kitchen stay afloat in providing food for 150-300 individuals per day in the center of Cusco. We are also organizing a fundraiser event for our very own AMAUTA community. We really hope you can make a donation or buy our Discount Voucher to support our philanthropy causes during this difficult time.
Unique Offer: buy a discount voucher
AMAUTA is offering a very unique voucher during the time of COVID-19. With the purchase of a US$ 100 voucher you will automatically:
- receive US$ 100 to an AMAUTA credit account,
- get 25% off your next AMAUTA Cusco program and,
- We will donate US$ 5 to a charitable association in Cusco.
With your donation, you will be helping to buy food products such as meat, rice, fruit, vegetables, etc. for these meals, which are directly distributed to the people of Cusco. The more donations, the more individuals we can reach. We hope we can count on you.
For questions, please contact us
or write info@amautaspanish.com,
or contact us via Facebook or Instagram.
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