How bad is the coronavirus outbreak in Brazil, in June 2020? They're unearthing the dead from their cemeteries to make room for all the people who are dying.
AP: "Brazil's biggest metropolis has an unorthodox plan to free up space at its graveyards during the coronavris pandemic: digging up the bones of people buried in the past and storing their bagged remains in large metal containers."
Peak 2020 right there, and we aren't even halfway through with this hellish year.
Sao Paulo's municipal funeral service said in a statement Friday that the remains of people who died at least three years ago will be exhumed and put in numbered bags, then stored temporarily in 12 storage containers it has purchased. The containers will be delivered to several cemeteries within 15 days, the statement said.
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At Sao Paulo's biggest cemetery, Vila Formosa, Adenilson Costa was among workers in blue protective suits digging up old graves Friday. He said their work has only grown more arduous during the pandemic, and as he removed bones from unearthed coffins, he said he fears what is to come."With this opening of malls and stores we get even more worried. We are not in the curve; we are in the peak and people aren't aware," Costa said. "This isn't over. Now is the worrisome moment. And there are still people out."
In April, gravediggers at Vila Formosa buried 1,654 people, up more than 500 from the previous month. Numbers for May and June aren't yet available.
The pandemic is expected to peak in Brazil within a couple of months, likely in August.
Read more:Sao Paulo cemeteries to dig up graves for coronavirus space
[TATIANA POLLASTRI and MAURICIO SAVARESE]
