Peru is currently one of the most affected countries in Latin America and worldwide because of the COVID-19 pandemic, in terms of the number of infections and people who have died (Ministry of Health of Peru, 2020Ministry of Health of Peru Sala Situacional del Ministerio de Salud.2020Google Scholar, Johns Hopkins University of Medicine, 2020Johns Hopkins University of Medicine Coronavirus Resource Center.2020Google Scholar). Unfortunately, physicians and other healthcare workers (HCW) have been significantly affected since the beginning of the pandemic (Ollarves-Carrero et al., 2020Ollarves-Carrero M.F. Rodriguez-Morales A.G. Bonilla-Aldana D.K. Rodríguez-Morales A.J. Anosmia in a healthcare worker with COVID-19 in Madrid, Spain.Travel Med Infect Dis. 2020; 35: 101666Crossref PubMed Scopus (29) Google Scholar). This letter analyses and discusses the impact of COVID-19 among Peruvian physicians, in terms of infected professionals and those who have died. Up to 27 August 2020, 3586 physicians out of 73,375 in Peru have been confirmed with COVID-19 by RT-PCR and/or serological tests (Table 1). Of them, 148 physicians have died (4.13%, case fatality rate, CFR%) (Table 1). The mean age was 58.66 years (±15.27) and 142 (95.3%) were male. Sixty-eight (45.6%) were general practitioners, 41 (27.5%) worked in surgical specialities, 32 (21.4%) in clinical specialities, and three (2.15%) in specialities related to diagnostic procedures. Moreover, deaths of five recently graduated physicians (3.55%) have been reported.Table 1Number of infected and deceased physicians due to COVID-19 by department, Peru (Ministry of Health of Peru, 2020Ministry of Health of Peru Sala Situacional del Ministerio de Salud.2020Google Scholar, Medical College of Peru, 2020Medical College of Peru Observatorio del Colegio Médico del Perú.2020Google Scholar).DepartmentPhysiciansRegisteredaNumber of physicians in the department.Infected% InfectedDeathsCFR%Arequipa52202174.15198.75Loreto95728529.78186.32Lima39,85110482.62625.91Piura22961928.3694.68Puno16631166.9754.31Ucayali58514224.2764.22Huánuco8069812.1544.08Huancavelica300842833.57Amazonas2466024.3923.33Ica20441256.1143.2Tumbes2135023.4712.0Moquegua3035016.502.0Madre de Dios1765128.9711.96La Libertad56832183.8341.83Ancash15131137.4621.76Lambayeque29251946.6331.54Junin2082703.3611.42Cuzco2723913.3411.09Ayacucho4579821.4411.02Cajamarca93110611.3810.94San Martin54611320.6910.88Cerro de Pasco266249.0200.0Apurimac467306.4200.0Tacna1122110.9800.0Total73,37535864.891484.13CFR%, case fatality rate.a Number of physicians in the department. Open table in a new tab CFR%, case fatality rate. In some departments–such as Loreto, Ucayali, Madre de Dios, Amazonas, San Martin (all of them from the Jungle region), and Tumbes, Huancavelica, and Ayacucho–where there is a significant lack of infrastructure in health services, number of physicians and well-standardised processes for health, the percentage of infected physicians, considering the total number of registered physicians, was >20%. The CFR% among physicians was higher than the entire population (4.59%), being higher in Arequipa (8.75%), Loreto, Lima, and Piura (Table 1). As of 19 August 2020, according to available information from 19 countries in the Americas, a total of 569,304 cases of COVID-19, including 2506 deaths, have been reported among HCW, including: 268,954 from Brazil (241 deaths, 0.09%), 143,100 from USA (660 deaths, 0.46%), 97,632 from Mexico (1320 deaths, 1.36%), 16,194 from Argentina, and 7692 from Colombia (52 deaths, 0.67%) (PAHO, 2020PAHO Epidemiological Alert-COVID-19 Among Healthcare Workers.2020https://www.paho.org/en/documents/epidemiological-alert-covid-19-among-health-workers-31-august-2020Google Scholar, CIDRAP, 2020CIDRAP Health agency: COVID-19 Hitting Health Workers Hard in Americas.2020Google Scholar). Although the number of physicians infected in Peru may be considered lower, compared with other countries in the region, the CFR% of physicians in Peru due to COVID-19 seems to be higher (∼5%), reaching even higher values in some areas of the country, as discussed. A lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) and its inappropriate use are risk factors for COVID-19 among physicians, especially in developing countries (Ing et al., 2020Ing E.V. Xu Q. Salinhi A. Torun N. Physician deaths from coronavirus (COVID-19).Occup Med. 2020; 70: 370-374Crossref Scopus (142) Google Scholar, Mhango et al., 2020Mhango M. Dzobo M. Chitungo I. Dzinamarina T. COVID-19 Risk Factors Among Health Workers. A Rapid Review. Safety and Health at Work.2020https://doi.org/10.1016/j.shaw.2020.06.001Crossref Scopus (114) Google Scholar). Moreover, overexposure to infected patients, excessive workloads in regions with few physicians, and poor infection control systems could be associated factors (Mhango et al., 2020Mhango M. Dzobo M. Chitungo I. Dzinamarina T. COVID-19 Risk Factors Among Health Workers. A Rapid Review. Safety and Health at Work.2020https://doi.org/10.1016/j.shaw.2020.06.001Crossref Scopus (114) Google Scholar). Diario Gestión Perú, has reported a lack of mechanical ventilators, well-equipped intensive care units and oxygen, in most departments, with higher levels of death among physicians (Diario Gestión Perú, 2020https://gestion.pe/peru/el-pulmon-del-mundo-se-muere-literalmente-por-falta-de-oxigeno-noticia/Diario Gestión Perú. Available at: [updated 05 May 2020; Accessed 06 August 2020].Google Scholar). Significant measures need to be taken to provide adequate PPE for physicians and other HCW, and increased attention to health services. At the end of August 2020, the number of infected nurses in Peru was ∼5000, with 71 (1.42%) who had died (Diario Co Latino, 2020Diario Co Latino Gremio de Enfermería Denuncia Abandono del Gobierno en Perú.2020Google Scholar). It is therefore vital to prioritize measures for physicians and HCW, taking into account that they are vital in the first line of defence during this pandemic. GVR and AJRM conceived the review, developed the preliminary search strategy and drafted the manuscript. All authors critically reviewed the manuscript for relevant intellectual content. All authors read and approved the final version of the paper. None declared. Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira. From the Dirección de Investigación Científica, Humanística y Tecnológica (2-05-01-01), National Autonomous University of Honduras, Tegucigalpa, MDC, Honduras, Central America, for funding this article. L.I.Z. was the recipient of the UNAH (CU-0-041-05-2014/03-2014 Scholarship). Study sponsors had no role in the study design, in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; and in the decision to submit the manuscript for publication.