Brazil: Coronavirus fears for stilted home residents in Santos

Residents of Dique da Vila Gilda, one of the largest stilted favelas in Brazil, are struggling to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Located in the coastal city of Santos, in the state of Sao Paulo, Dique da Vila Gilda is home to around 26 thousand people, according to a local NGO.

Solange de Castro has lived in the neighbourhood for 50 years.

She says residents of the stilted houses who are taken ill have to be carried onto the street for ambulances to reach them, and that there is always the risk the houses' wooden floors may break when people enter.

Several members of de Castro's family developed symptoms of COVID-19, including her daughter, grandson, father and herself.

None of them were tested.

"I feared to lose my daughter. That was my only fear." said another resident, Andre Oliveira.

Oliveira's 5-year-old daughter tested positive for COVID-19.

She didn't develop any symptoms, but he fears for the rest of the family, including his 3-months old baby.

"Even before COVID, we already knew how was the situation of the hospitals and the public health system", he said.

"And with this disease, it only got worse."

The city of Santos has seen more than 11,000 COVID-19 infections.

According to experts, while the number of cases and victims in the big cities is falling, the virus is now moving to the countryside where the health system is not always prepared to deal with the outbreak.

Brazil has registered more than 1,7 million cases and almost 68,000 deaths from the coronavirus outbreak.