Brazil marks one year since the start of COVID-19

At Cemetery of Penance on outskirts of Rio on Thursday, COVID-19 victims continue to be buried on first anniversary of day World Health Organization declared coronavirus to be a worldwide pandemic.

"March 22 will be one year since we h first burial from COVID here," he of crematorium commented, as bereaved families of a COVID victim gared outside facility.

state of Rio has registered 33,893 deaths since outbreak began, according to Johns Hopkins Hospital, and numbers continue to rise, albeit at a slower rate in state, as compared to rest of Brazil.

New restrictions on bars, restaurants, clubs and or public places in Rio de Janeiro, announced last week, have been extended, in a bid by city officials to dampen numbers of new cases and avoid crashing health care system.

And while a mass immunization program has started, less than 2% of Brazilian population has received a vaccine to date, and until more people are inoculated, pandemic will continue to rage.

On Wednesday, Pan American Health Organization issued a dire warning about Brazil, saying, "cases are rising at alarming rates in Brazil."

Death rates from COVID-19 are reaching similar levels to when pandemic began a year ago, and vaccinations are not happening fast enough to affect numbers.

But some are optimistic end may be near to what has been a trying year for people of Rio.

"This has been a horrible time, not only for me but also for my family, my grandchildren. We are afraid, but now re is light at end of tunnel!"  86- year-old aleia Carvalhlo exclaimed at State University of Rio, where she received her second dose of COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday.

At Municipal Hospital Evandro Freire, one of main medical facilities used to treat COVID patients in city, some 58 new ICU beds have been ded.

It's an unwelcome reminder that year-long health crisis continues to grip country, and weary Rio residents hope vaccines will provide much needed relief y have spent a year waiting for.