Peru has begun enforcing strict new measures to stop the spread of the coronavirus disease, restricting public movement by gender, a media report said on Friday.

Men can only leave home on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays; women can do so on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. On Sundays, no-one is allowed out, said the BBC report.

Regarding the new restrictions, President Martin Vizcarra said on Thursday that previous control measures had given good results "but not what was hoped for".

Calling for an "extra effort to control this disease", he said the new gender-based restrictions should halve the number of people circulating in public at any one time.

"We have to get fewer people on the streets every day," the BBC quoted the President as saying.

The new rules came into effect on Friday and will last until April 12, when a nationwide lockdown imposed on March 16 was scheduled to be lifted.

Peru has recorded more than 1,400 confirmed coronvirus cases and 55 deaths.

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