Brazil's poorest die at home as pandemic grows

Relatives of Adilson Carlos Sousa waited 27 hours until a funeral service arrived at the Manguinhos favela in Rio de Janeiro to remove the body of the 61-year-old man who died with COVID-19-like symptoms.

Joao da Silva, a member of the non-governmental organization Rio de Paz providing social work support during the pandemic and distributing food among residents of the shantytown, was called by the family to help.

He shot a video of the moment Sousa's body was removed from home by workers of a funeral parlor.

Relatives told da Silva that two ambulances arrived at the house after Sousa died, but neither of them took the body.

In Brazil when someone dies, the police or the medical service has to be notified to release a death certificate but only the funeral service can remove the body.

After spending hours looking for information, the family found a funeral parlor willing to remove their loved one's body.

Sousa arrived at home about 10 days after being released from hospital where he was treated for pneumonia.

According to da Silva, he had symptoms of COVID-19 but the family could not take him back to the hospital.

"What happened with Mr Adilson, we believe it's happening in the communities (favelas) of Rio. People are dying, victims of the virus and the state keeps inert, keeps looking indifferent (to the favelas) as it always did," da Silva said.

Brazil has been hard-hit by the pandemic where, according to the registry office, the number of deaths at home increased in 23% between February 26 – when the first case was confirmed in the country - and May 16.

It means that 10,076 more people died in that period compared with the same period last year, according to the registry office statistics.

In Manaus, Eldon Cascais had been battling lung cancer for the past five years.

He visited public hospitals frequently for treatment, the same hospitals that collapsed in April after the pandemic hit the Brazilian rainforest city with full force.

So, when the 34-year-old fell sick after going out to run errands, he didn't seek medical help.

Seven days later, on May 9, Cascais passed away in his home, alone.

Like most Manaus residents who die at home, Cascais was never tested for COVID-19, despite having suffered from the most common symptoms of the disease cause by the new coronavirus.

Workers of SOS Funeral, a service supported by Manaus City Hall that provides free coffins and funeral services to those who can't afford them, removed the body of Cascais as they did with Leivane Bibiano only three days after.

Bibiano, an HIV-positive mother of four, died at age 42 and was also treated for tuberculosis at the local tropical diseases foundation.

Two weeks before her death, Bibiano developed a fever, diarrhea and an incessant, different cough according to her eldest son Leandro.

She was never tested for COVID-19.

"The deaths at home usually come with acute respiratory insufficiency, and there is no sample collected to be tested later for COVID. But from our day-to-day experience, we understand it is related to COVID-19," said Lenise Trindade, the head of SOS Funeral.

Of the country's 27 states, 22 registered an increase in the number of deaths at home.

In Manaus, the increase between February 26 and May 16 was 159%, according to the registry office comparing the numbers with the same period last year.

By Sunday, Brazil had registered 29,314 deaths linked to the virus, the country with the fourth highest number of victims in the world, after the United States, the UK and Italy, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Brazil's close to 515,000 reported cases is the second highest toll behind the US.

For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks.

But the virus is highly contagious and can be spread by those with mild or no visible symptoms.

For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and could lead to death.