As countries across the world battle to slow the spread of the coronavirus, two Latin American nations have decided to allow men and women to leave their homes on designated days divided by gender.

Peru is following Panama’s lead in imposing a rule in which men and women can leave their homes to stock up on alternate days. In Peru, this means on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays only men will be able to leave their homes to stock up.

Women can go out on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. No-one at all can leave home on Sunday.

Panama yesterday introduced similar restrictions in which men can leave the house to go to the supermarket or the pharmacy on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays and women will be allowed out on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

“We have to get fewer people to be on the streets every day,” Peru’s President Martin Vizcarra said on Thursday in a virtual news conference with his cabinet of ministers and experts.

women in peru are allowed to go outside on tuesdays, thursdays, and saturdays under curfew. men are allowed to go out mondays, wednesdays and fridays under the same rule. no one is allowed to go out on sundays. god cuida a mi país. pic.twitter.com/fdg46QhjlG

— gianfranco🇵🇪 (@giansanityx) April 2, 2020

Mr Vizcarra said it was easier for security forces to monitor the circulation of men and women to enforce the quarantine order, rather than using serial numbers of identity documents to divide up days which some other countries have done.

The president said that the new measure, which will be in place until April 12, would not impact people who have an emergency or are authorised to work during the quarantine, such as those in essential food production, pharmacies and banking institutions.

“We have 10 days left. Let’s make this additional effort to get into this curve and we can have control of the evolution of this disease,” Mr Vizcarra said.

The country has recorded 1,414 confirmed cases with 55 deaths.

–with AAP