Memorial events for people who succumbed to COVID-19 were held across Brazil the past few days as the country’s death toll has topped the grim milestone of 500,000 since the start of the epidemic.
On Monday evening, mourners in cities including Rio de Janeiro gathered at a local public square and lit 500 candles in memory of those who have lost their lives to the virus, with each candle representing 1,000 deaths.
They also observed one minute of silence for the deceased.
Similar candlelit memorial events were also held in other cities such as Sao Paulo.
On Sunday, people in Rio set 500 red roses on the famous Copacabana Beach to mourn the 500,000 deaths.
While on Saturday, tens of thousands of people in 27 cities, including the capital Brasilia, took to the streets to voice their discontent over the federal government’s epidemic response and called for the acceleration of vaccinations.
In Brazil, where the world’s second highest death toll has been reported after the U.S., the epidemic situation remains grave.
It only took 51 days for the national fatalities to rise from 400,000 to 500,000 as of June 19.
Statisticians predict that the number of deaths from coronavirus in Brazil may reach 560,000 in July and 620,000 in mid-August.
