COVID-19: Burials jump in Latin America's largest cemetery

The largest cemetery in Latin America, Brazil's Vila Formosa had a 30 percent increase in the number of burials after the start of the spread of the new coronavirus.

Sao Paulo: Cemetery workers wore protective clothes while burying a person at the Vila Formosa cemetery in Brazil's Sao Paulo on Wednesday, where just a small group of people paid the last respect and left flowers on the top of the grave.

Drone images showed dozens of open graves at the largest cemetery in Latin America, that had a 30 percent increase in the number of burials after the start of the spread of the new coronavirus, according to its administration.

Sao Paulo, the country's most populous city also considered the financial capital of Brazil, has been so far the one registering most cases and deaths related to the coronavirus in a country that already leads the COVID-19 cases in Latin America.

On Wednesday Brazil's health ministry reported 6,836 COVID-19 cases and 241 deaths.

Sao Paulo's Governor Joao Doria called people to be united ahead of the pandemic despite political differences.

While state governors have insisted lockdowns to avoid the spread of the virus, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has challenged the recommendations of the World Health Organization.

Bolsonaro insisted that a complete lockdown will affect the economy, bringing more victims than the virus itself.

For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks.

For some, especially the elderly and people with preexisting health conditions, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death.

AP