By Mariano Castillo @ CNN.com, May 25

Peru was one of the first nations in the Americas to take strict preventative coronavirus measures, like stay-at-home orders, curfews and border closings. So how did it become one of the hardest hit? As of Monday, Peru had more than 123,900 confirmed coronavirus cases and 3,600 deaths -- putting it second only to Brazil both in number of cases and deaths in Latin America.

The two countries had handled the epidemic entirely differently: While Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro downplayed the dangers posed by the coronavirus, Peru's President Martin Vizcarra declared on March 15 a nationwide state of emergency that included mandatory self-quarantine, and shuttered the country's borders.

But the virus surged all the same.

About 85% of Peru's ICU beds with ventilators are currently occupied, according to government figures, and overcrowding at hospitals is feared. "This situation is not just a health emergency, but a health catastrophe, defined as a situation where the pandemic has overtaken the response capacity of the health sector," Dr. Alfredo Celis of the Medical College of Peru told CNN en Español.

How did a country that responded assertively and seriously to the pandemic end up like this? [....]

The deep inequality in Peru is one reason, according to Dr. Elmer Huerta, a Peruvian doctor and contributor to CNN en Español. "What I have learned is that this virus lays bare the socio-economic conditions of a place," he said.  Many of Peru's poor have no choice but to venture outside their homes for work, food or even banking transactions. For example, only 49% of Peruvian households own a refrigerator or freezer (61% in urban areas), according to the country's 2017 Census. This translates to a need for many to visit markets daily for food because they can't stock up [....]