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 In Brazil, Fear Surges Along with Coronavirus Burials


Workers bury a person believed to have died from COVID-19 at the Vila Formosa cemetery in the outskirts of Sao Paulo, Brazil, on March 31, 2020.
Workers bury a person believed to have died from COVID-19 at the Vila Formosa cemetery in the outskirts of Sao Paulo, Brazil, on March 31, 2020.

The fears over the coronavirus are extending to the grave in Brazil, where workers wore protective clothes while burying a person in Sao Paulo on Wednesday, at the largest cemetery in Latin America.

Video images of dozens of open graves at Vila Formosa cemetery highlighted the surge in burials since the virus hit Brazil, which has 241 confirmed deaths from the virus.

Sao Paulo, Brazil's financial capital, has been hit hardest, with a majority of the nation’s 6,836 coronavirus victims.

Brazil leads all countries in Latin America for the number of coronavirus cases.

Political differences over how to fight the virus could be making the challenge in Brazil more difficult, with state leaders initiating lockdowns to slow the spread of the virus, and President Jair Bolsonaro resisting a nationwide lockdown, claiming it would adversely impact the economy more than the virus.

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