Lima, August 14 (RHC)-- Peru surpassed half a million coronavirus cases on Thursday and now has Latin America's highest rate of death, according to health ministry data.

The Andean country has 507,996 confirmed cases and 25,648 related fatalities.  Peru's death rate stands at 78.6 per 100,000 people, according to a Reuters tally, a number higher than hard-hit regional neighbors Chile and Brazil.

President Martin Vizcarra blamed the recent spike in infections on an uptick in social and sporting events and a lax attitude by the public.  "There has been too much confidence on the part of the population," Vizcarra said.  "Let's learn from history, correct mistakes and now we are united despite the discrepancies in some of the decisions that are made."

Vizcarra on Wednesday banned family gatherings, reinstated a blanket Sunday curfew and extended lockdowns to five more regions of the country as figures revealed a 75 percent surge in infections among children and adolescents.