Introduction:

It is important to assess the popular perception of the impact of the measures taken by governments in response to the fast spread of the coronavirus.

Objective:

Determine the perception of the public health measures implemented by the Peruvian government to stop the spread of COVID-19.

Methods:

A multicenter cross-sectional analytical study was conducted based on a virtual survey applied to more than 4 000 people across the country.

Results:

The vast majority of respondents agreed that COVID-19 is a serious epidemic / pandemic (47% in agreement and 42% very much in agreement). However, only 22%, 21%, 17% and 46% thought that the country, the health sector, the hospitals and the doctors, respectively, were prepared to face it. The most widely supported migration measures were border closure (68% very much in agreement) and denying entrance to travelers returning from China or other countries with high rates of coronavirus infection (60% very much in agreement). Respondents agreed that mass gatherings should not be held for a while (69% very much in agreement), a figure followed by those proposing to declare a public health emergency (61% very much in agreement) and the closure of colleges and universities for some time (50% very much in agreement). Many statistical associations of these perceptions were found, according to sex, age or educational level (p < 0.05).

Conclusions:

The population supports most of the measures, those related to socioeducational characteristics receiving greater support.

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