Few in Rio attend burials, take flowers to deceased moms on Mother's Day

Very few turned up to visit their late mothers' graves in a Rio de Janeiro cemetery on Sunday, while others buried their dead, victims to the novel coronavirus.

More than 11,000 people have died of COVID-19 in Brazil.

On this Mother's Day, a scarce number turned up to remember their mothers' graves in person.

Others, like Erasmo de Louça, travelled some 1,600 kilometres (994 miles) to bury his brother, 46-year old Romeu de Louça, who was hospitalized for cancer treatment and died after being infected with coronavirus at the hospital, his family said.

Erasmo de Louça was the only one in the family attending the burial.

Nearby, open graves were already awaiting the bodies of further victims.

Most of the states in Brazil have implemented strict restrictions to curb the spread of the coronavirus, with mandatory masks in public places and on public transportation, as well as having stay-at-home orders.

But President Jair Bolsonaro has asked the Supreme Court to order states to roll back restrictions on business.

Brazil has more than 156,000 cases and 11,123 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins.

(Representative Image)