Sao Paulo cemeteries to dig up graves for coronavirus space
Source: Associated Press
Sao Paulo cemeteries to dig up graves for coronavirus space
By TATIANA POLLASTRI and MAURICIO SAVARESE
June 13, 2020
SAO PAULO (AP) Brazils 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.
Sao Paulos 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.
Sao Paulo is one of the COVID-19 hot spots in Latin Americas hardest-hit nation, with 5,480 deaths as of Thursday in the city of 12 million people. And some health experts are worried about a new surge now that a decline in intensive care bed occupancy to about 70% prompted Mayor Bruno Covas to authorize a partial reopening of business this week. The result has been crowded public transport, long lines at malls and widespread disregard for social distancing.
Many health experts predict the peak of Brazils pandemic will arrive in August, having spread from the big cities where it first appeared into the nations interior. The virus has so far killed almost 42,000 Brazilians, and Brazil passed the United Kingdom on Friday to become the country with the worlds second highest death toll.
Dr. Michael Ryan, the World Health Organizations emergencies chief, said Friday that the situation in Brazil remains of concern, although acknowledged that intensive care bed occupancy rates are now below 80% in most areas of the country.
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