A group of American tourists that were stuck in Peru said they were shocked when they began to be lined up outside and sprayed with a strange substance.
The chemical smelled like bleach and stained some of their clothing, tourists who were there told the Washington Post. The group of tourists had been forcibly quarantined at the Pariwana hostel in Cusco.
Patrick Beach, a tourist from Florida who went to Peru on vacation with his girlfriend, said Peruvian authorities threatened to shoot anyone who attempted to leave the cramped hostel where dozens of travelers have been holed up.
Beach said that many of those at the hostel had been messaging each other and first found out about the strange chemical baths from others.
“We were all pretty scared in the group chat,” he said. “You hear chlorine or bleach, and you know you’re not supposed to touch it. So the idea of being sprayed with it is very scary.”
“Ultimately, it just ruined peoples’ clothes, and everyone was pretty much okay, but the surprise of it all was the worst thing,” Beach added.
Daniel Voznyarskiy, a student at the University of Washington, said that there was “no warning whatsoever.”
“They made us do a 360, sprayed us with bleach, and sprayed our bags. I closed my eyes and plugged my nose,” he said.
A State Department spokesperson said that the United States had spoken to local authorities about the incident and would “continue discussions with our Peruvian counterparts to ensure that healthcare practices comply with international standards.”
The World Health Organization has said that dousing people in dangerous disinfectants like bleach “will not kill viruses that have already entered” the body and rather can harm the eyes and mouths of those being sprayed.
Beach, Voznyarskiy, and the other stranded Americans were ultimately evacuated from Peru on U.S. chartered flights.
These are the clothes of Daniel Voznyarskiy, a 22-year-old student at the University of Washington, after Peruvian officials took him out of a forced quarantine in a hostel and sprayed him down. “I went to Peru to see Machu Picchu,” he said. “I didn’t expect to be bleached.” pic.twitter.com/29qgpIyYKD
— John Hudson (@John_Hudson) April 8, 2020
