NOCTURNAL BURIALS FACING COVID-19 HECATOMB

 IN BRAZIL

Four cemeteries in São Paulo - one of the states hardest hit by the pandemic - are now open at night to deal with the increase in the number of burials.

"We have never seen in the history of Brazil a single event killing so many people in 30 days," said Miguel Nicolelis, coordinator of the Scientific Committee formed by the Northeastern States of Brazil against the pandemic.

Death and contamination records

"We are at the worst time, with records of deaths and contaminations, which signals that April will still be very bad," said epidemiologist Ethel Maciel, professor at the Federal University of Espirito Santo (UFES).

Brazilian hospitals are almost saturated. In several states, healthcare workers have already started allocating intensive care beds to those patients who are most likely to survive. For Dr Nicolelis "it is very possible" that Brazil "will reach half a million dead by July".

"This is not only a threat for Brazil, but also for the whole world", he added, while the Latin American neighbors of the country in turn undergo strong outbreaks of contaminations.