Infected

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Coronavirus has overwhelmed The City of Manaus, where the people are buried in mass graves

In The Middle of the rain forest, The Virus has gotten the best of him. Manaus, the Amazon's largest city, is at Breaking Point . They are digging mass graves, or trenches. It is the only way, overwhelmed authorities and to deal 19 with the death of Covid -.

people are asking whether this city, the capital of the Brazilian state of Amazonas , The Next Guayaquil. It is not hard to compare how the images of the unburied dead bodies in Ecuador are still etched in many peoples' minds here.

Amazon has rates in Brazil, one of the highest infection and is one of The Most under-funded health systems, a combination that brought chaos to The Heart of The Jungle .

In April, they are not mentioned officially, as a victim of Covid-19 but experts believe it is only a statement can. With the test still low, there is a massive dark figure of real numbers.

But even the official numbers - around 92,000 - confirmed cases and More Than 6,500 deaths in Brazil reached a grim milestone, because it went to China, where the outbreak began.

"We are not miracle want," said The Mayor of Manaus, Arthur Virgilio Neto. It is a side swipe at President Jair Bolsonaro , the taunts, The Rising number of deaths by joking that his middle name was the Messiah, but he did not work miracles.

"What we need is a plane full of scanners, ventilators, medication and PSA," He Said , referring to protective equipment for health workers. But the help has been slow, while Mr Bolsonaro continue to play down the severity of The Virus .

sense of abandonment

the home of nearly two million people, Manaus is the seventh-largest city in Brazil and the isolated urban centre. Amazon also has the largest number of locals in the country, many of whom live in The City now.

the poverty, the malnutrition, and the expulsion of the combat of The Virus is an even greater challenge for these municipalities, some of Brazil's most endangered.

In the Parque das Tribos, on The Outskirts of Manaus, several women are busy at sewing machines. History has taught that people with The Virus , bringing the outside devastation. Your only defense are now self-made masks, but much more is needed to protect you.

homemade face masks protect women against The Virus

"We have a lot of people in the community with the symptoms," says resident Vanderleia dos Santos. "We have no doctor here, or a nurse, according to us. "

During the coronavirus crisis, she says, the indigenous communities in The City Will be attended to by the Public Health system, known as SUS. Rural indigenous communities have their own special health service, the Special Secretariat for Indigenous health (is necessary).

you worry, though, that The System masks the true number of indigenous suffering under Covid-19. instead, they are called "white".

"Our identity is called into question, all The Time ," she says. "And we can't see it in us, the relatives who may be Infected . "

"We have many people with symptoms," says Vanderleia dos Santos

With nearly half of Brazil's indigenous communities, which is not now in the cities, there is a small problem.

"The indigenous in the urban areas in the stitch feel left out," said Sonia Guajajara language, head of The Association of Brazil's Indigenous peoples. "They are exposed to contagion and death, because they are not served immediately. "

'double'

For those who live deep in the rain forest, the nearest medical help is often far days with the boat. Some of the municipalities close to far, the fear of contagion. Others remain such, but their existence is threatened, if there is even less supervision of indigenous and environmental organisations.

"It's a Double Whammy ," says Jonathan Mazower of Survival International . "Many of The Field agents, which would have been the protection of the reserves of the invasions have been withdrawn and are no more patrols. "

Amazon has areas in Brazil, one of the highest coronavirus infection prices

This has large consequences in a country where illegal loggers and miners have been encouraged by a government to get rid of the protection and the development of the Amazon.

"a Lot of people are says eyeing up in this area," Mr Mazower,. "Undoubtedly, you are taking advantage, and staking your claim. "

The numbers speak for themselves. In The First three months of the Year , deforestation increased by 51%.

"at the same time as the adoption of measures to combat the Covid-19, we can't forget the incursions and attacks, which are solved over and over again before, and never," says Sonia Guajajara language. "In search of Covid-19, The Other makes problems Invisible . "

part of the Amazon has been burned by loggers and farmers in the neighboring state of Acre

she says, miners, loggers, hunters, and evangelicals want to be in contact with unkontaktierte tribes "are not in the quarantine", and added: "you can use This Time to explore, and they are The Most important vectors. "

And there is an additional there is urgency, as The Fire season begins.

Last Year , an unprecedented number of fires devastated huge forest areas in the Amazon. Peak fire season is from July, which some experts fear, could in time of crisis, with The Peak of the coronavirus.

"This Will be a double-trouble", says Romulo Batista of Greenpeace in Manaus.

In the Year 2019, there are More Than two and a half times The Number of people with lung problems than usual, He Said . And municipalities closer to The Fire areas, such as Porto Velho in The State of Rondônia, Will suffer The Most .

"If you have fires a lot, and you have to go a lot of people to the hospital, if you have a hospital full of Covid-19, it is the madness, when the fires start this Year . "

brazil, coronavirus pandemic, jair bolsonaro

Source of news: bbc.com