Manaus registers 100 deaths per day and the funeral system is nearing collapse.
"We have between 500 and 600 coffins in stock. With more than a hundred burials a day, it won't last more than five days," said the president of the union of funeral companies in the state of Amazonas, Manuel Viana.
247 - With the advancement of the new coronavirus pandemic in Amazonas, the city of Manaus, which was already facing difficulties in serving the population, is also on the verge of a collapse of its funeral system. “We have between 500 and 600 coffins in stock. With more than one hundred burials daily, it won't last more than five days,” said the president of the union of funeral companies in the state of Amazonas, Manuel Viana.
According to the newspaper report The GlobeThe capital of Amazonas has been registering more than 100 deaths per day for the past seven days, which led the union to issue a warning that the stock of coffins is expected to run out within a week.
One of the sector's hopes for avoiding chaos lies in negotiations between the Brazilian Association of Funeral Companies and Directors (Abredif) and the Federal Government, to make available one or two cargo planes to transport up to 2 coffins from Campinas (SP) to Manaus.
“If this operation is not possible, we have to send the ballot boxes by truck no later than Tuesday. And even then they won't arrive in time. Because the truck takes 11 days to get to Manaus,” emphasizes the president of Abredif, Lourival Panhozzi.
Another attempt being considered is in Acre, where members of the state government are trying to find an aircraft to retrieve the coffins from Campinas.