Objectives:

To identify the association between the number of informal employees and the number of positive COVID-19 cases in Peru.

Methods:

Data from the Peruvian National Institute of Statistics and Informatics and the National COVID-19 database were used. Bivariate linear regression and multivariate logistic regression were performed to evaluate the number of informal employees, population density, and altitude in relation to the number of COVID-19 positive cases.

Results:

Bivariate analysis showed that the number of informal employees was significantly associated with the number of COVID-19 positive cases in both high and low altitude regions (p<0.001). In the multivariate analysis, it was found that the number of informal employees (p<0.001), population density (p=0.02), and altitude (p<0.001) were associated with the number of COVID-19 positive cases.

Conclusions:

Informal employees are common in low- and middle-income countries where there is no social security and they are economically dependent on daily wages. Their situation worsened due to social mobility restrictions, forcing them to continue working and, consequently, becoming quickly infected, further contributing as a contagion focus.

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