Health

Excavators dig graves in Brazil awaiting dreaded pandemic spike

Sao Paulo, Apr 18 (EFE) .- Ahead of an anticipated and dreaded national peak of the COVID-19 epidemic, Brazil has begun digging large-scale graveyards. In Sao Paulo’s Vila Formosa cemetery, the largest in Latin America, about 20 excavators dig against the clock.In the space of a few days, the scene of workers digging painstakingly with shovels has changed to that of operators in masks and white overalls at the controls of heavy machinery.The calm and silence of the Vila Formosa cemetery, where the remains of 1.5 million people are estimated to rest, is broken by the noise of the hydraulic excavators that on Friday started to dig around 1,200 new graves. (Camera: CARLOS MENESES SÁNCHEZ)FOOTAGE SHOWS EXCAVATORS AT WORK IN SAO PAULO'S VILA FORMOSA CEMETERY, BRAZIL. SOUNDBITES: EXCAVATOR OPERATOR LUCIANO NASCIMENTO (IN PORTUGUESE)(00:00:09 - 00:00:12)"They are being more difficult these days, more burials, more people ..."(00:00:28 - 00:00:33) "You have to take care of yourself because the situation is serious. You can see that there are many machines working, many graves being opened because of the pandemic. Whoever is at home, should stay at home."