How The COVID-19 Pandemic Trampled Brazil

Since the COVID-19 pandemic hit Brazil, there have been more than two million coronavirus cases in the country. With more than 74,000 reported deaths, the South American country is now the second worst affected country in the world, next to the U.S.

It has been four months since the first cases of COVID-19 were reported in Brazil and every Brazilian knows how it all got to this point. Indigenous communities were the first to be affected by the initial wave of the outbreak. Just as cases in the Amazon region snowballed, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro downplayed the risks of what he called “little flu,” refusing to implement a national lockdown.

But it was not long before the coronavirus started to spread from the rural communities to major cities such as Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. In May, Sao Paulo became the new hotspot for COVID-19 and its underfunded health system went on the brink of collapse.

Even then, Bolsonaro said there was no need for a national lockdown and allowed states and cities to adopt their own measures. He even criticized stay-at-home orders in some cities and joined anti-lockdown protests in Brasilia, arguing that such lockdowns have more detrimental effects than the virus itself.

On June 20, Brazil passed one million coronavirus cases and figures have continued to skyrocket. Without making mass testing a priority, and despite the surge in new cases, major cities such as Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo lifted lockdowns and reopened their economies.

Earlier this month, Bolsonaro himself experienced the wrath of the pandemic. After claiming in March that he could not be brought down by “a little flu,” the president was put to test last week when he tested positive for the coronavirus.

Now, Brazilians have no choice but to take matters into their own hands. With local and national government officials not taking extreme measures to keep their people safe, it looks like the only thing that can reverse the current situation in Brazil is the advent of a potent coronavirus vaccine.

Otherwise, the victims of the pandemic will continue to reach deep into the heart of the Manaus, where a mass grave for those who died of COVID-19 has been dug to serve as a grim reminder of this dark time in the history of Brazil.