Brazil's Christ The Redeemer statue lights up to pay tribute to COVID-19 victims | Watch

In a bid to honour the victims of COVID-19, the statue of the Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro was ‘beautifully’ illuminated. Latin America has emerged as the ‘new epicentre’ of the coronavirus outbreak and Brazil is the second most virus-hit country in the world. As per Johns Hopkins University tally, over 1.4 million people have been infected with the fatal disease while 61,884 have died. To pay a tribute to all the people who lost their lives in the global health crisis, the number was showcased on the statue. The homage was put together by the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil (CNBB) and Brazilian Caritas (an organization of the CNBB), with the support of the United Nations.

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White coat on Easter Sunday

Before the iconic statue was lit up to remember over 60,000 victims of COVID-19 in the country and over five lakh worldwide casualties of coronavirus outbreak, Christ The Redeemer was lit up with white coat on the Easter Sunday. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the doctors and all health professionals have emerged as the frontline fighters who are being honoured worldwide. In the same light, Brazil also decided to pay tribute to health care workers with messages being flashed in all languages. 

The deadly virus has already infected over 1.4 million people in Brazil. The virus has been reportedly spreading mostly in larger cities, however, since late May it has been spreading faster in the interior of the country. According to reports, earlier this month the country also reported that 60 per cent of the new cases were registered in smaller cities. The Brazilian health ministry has noted that the deaths are also rising outside of the major cities. 

As per reports, the experts believe the impact of a potential second wave of a new case in urban centres could further complicate attempts to reopen businesses and revive the hard-hit economy. While speaking to an international media outlet, Miguel Nicolelis, who is coordinating a coronavirus task force advising the state governments of Brazil’s northeast, said that the ‘boomerang’ of cases that will return to the capital of the country will be ‘tsunami’. 

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