Tourists return but Easter Islanders draw lessons from Covid isolation

RTL – AFP, 10 August 2022

Easter Island's giant human moai statues were carved by the indigneous
Rapa Nui people some time between 1200 and 1500 AD / © AFP

During more than two years of the coronavirus pandemic, Easter Island was closed to tourism -- forcing inhabitants to turn to a more sustainable way of life and relearn forgotten skills. 

Now that the island's borders are open once again, local people, including the Rapa Nui indigenous population, want to resist the temptation to return to their pre-pandemic lifestyle. 

"The time has come that the ancients predicted," Julio Hotus, a member of the Easter Island council of elders, told AFP. 

Hotus said the Rapa Nui people's ancestors had warned about the importance of maintaining food independence because of the risk the island faced of one day becoming isolated, but that recent generations had ignored the warnings. 

Before the pandemic, the island's food supply was almost exclusively provided by Chile. 

Easter Island lies 3,500 kilometers (2,100 miles) off the west coast of Chile and is world renown for its monumental statues of human figures with giant heads, called moai. 

With a population of just 8,000, it used to attract 160,000 tourists a year -- "an avalanche" according to Hotus -- but in March 2020 Easter Island closed its borders over Covid. 

No tourists, no income 

Olga Ickapakarati used to sell small stone moai figurines to tourists but once she was left without an income, she turned to agriculture and fishing to survive, just as her ancestors had lived before contact with European explorers. 

Easter Islanders pay their respects to the Mother Earth outside the island's
airport ahead of the arrival of the first tourists in 28 months / © AFP

"We were all left with nothing, we were left in the wind .... but we began planting," Ickapakarati told AFP. 

She took advantage of a program that delivered seeds before the island was shut off from the outside world. 

Ickapakarati planted spinach, beets, cilantro, chard, celery, basil, pineapple, oregano and tomatoes. 

What she didn't eat, she shared with neighbors, just as many families did in creating an island-wide support network. 

"All the islanders are like this. They have good hearts. If I see that I have a surplus of something, I give it to another family," said Ickapakarati, who lives with her children and grandchildren. 

This new focus on sustainable living does not mean an end to tourism on Easter Island. 

Last week, the first airplane of tourists for 28 months landed on the island, to much excitement from the locals desperate to see new faces. 

But there will be no immediate return to the two flights a day of yesteryear. There will be just two a week for now, although the number will gradually increase. 

Large hotel chains have decided to stay closed.

 "We will continue with tourists, but I hope that the pandemic has taught a lesson that we can apply for the future," said Hotus. 

'Archeological heritage at risk' 

Another thing the pandemic did was to create awareness of the necessity to look after natural resources affected by climate change, such as water and energy. And also the emblematic moais. 

Local Easter Island inhabitants like Olga Ickapakarati took to growing their own
 food during the pandemic as their tourism based income disappeared due to
the islands' borders being closed / © AFP

Carved from volcanic rock by the Polynesian Rapa Nui people between 1200 and 1500, there are more than 900 on the island, which measures 24 kilometers by 12 kilometers. 

The statues can measure up to 20 meters in height and weigh more than 80 tons. 

Most remain at the quarry where they were originally carved but many others were carted to coastal areas to look inland, presumably for ceremonial purposes. 

The moais have been damaged by heavy rainfall, strong winds and the ocean waves crashing against the statues and their bases, leading to fears for their future. 

"Climate change, with its extreme events, is putting our archeological heritage at risk," said Vairoa Ika, the local environment director. 

"The stone is degrading" and needs to be protected. 

"The problem with the moais is that they are very fragile," added Pedro Edmunds Paoa, the island's mayor, who says the statues' worth is "incalculable."

The iconic moais have turned Easter Island into a tourist destination but these
stone sculptures are at risk from the elements / © AFP

He said that authorities need to "forget about the tourist" vision and take protective measures, even if that means covering the statues "with glass domes", which would ruin not just the authentic view but also tourists' photographs. 

He also wants inhabitants to make maximum use of natural resources and to prioritize locals in employment, while resurrecting the ancestral practise of fostering community solidarity. 

"From now on the tourist must become a friend of the place, whereas before they were visiting foreigners," said Edmunds Paoa.

Peru's Machu Picchu reopens... for one Japanese tourist

Yahoo – AFP, October 13, 2020  

Machu Picchu has reopened for a single lucky visitor, a Japanese man
stranded in the country by the pandemic

Peru's best-known tourist site Machu Picchu has opened after months of coronavirus closure, but for just a single visitor -- a Japanese man stranded in the country by the pandemic. 

"The first person on Earth who went to Machu Picchu since the lockdown is meeeeeee," Jesse Katayama posted on his Instagram account alongside pictures of himself at the deserted site. 

"This is truly amazing! Thank you," he added in a video posted on the Facebook pages of the local tourism authority in Cusco, where the famed site is located. 

Katayama spoke against the backdrop of the majestic mountaintop dotted with ancient ruins that once attracted thousands of tourists a day but has been closed since March because of the coronavirus. 

The Japanese boxing instructor, identified by local media as a 26-year-old from Nara, has been stuck in Peru since March, when he bought a ticket for the tourist site just days before the country declared a health emergency. 

He told a Peruvian newspaper he had only planned to spend three days in the area, but with flights cancelled and movement limited by the virus, he found himself stuck there for months. 

Eventually, his plight reached the local tourism authority, which agreed to give him special permission to visit the Inca city, reopening the site just for him. 

"I thought that I wouldn't be able to go, but thanks to all of you who pleaded with the mayor and the government, I was given this super special opportunity," he wrote in Japanese on his Instagram account. 

Machu Picchu is the most enduring legacy of the Inca empire that ruled a large swathe of western South America for 100 years before the Spanish conquest in the 16th century. 

The ruins of the Inca settlement were rediscovered in 1911 by the American explorer Hiram Bingham, and in 1983, UNESCO declared Machu Picchu a World Heritage Site. 

It was originally scheduled to reopen to visitors in July, but that has now been pushed back to November. 

Just 675 tourists a day will be allowed in, 30 percent of the number allowed before the pandemic, with visitors expected to maintain social distancing. 

Since it first opened to tourists in 1948, it has been closed just once before, for two months in 2010 when a flood destroyed the railway tracks connecting it to Cusco.

Brazil indigenous chief Raoni set for hospital release

Yahoo – AFP, July 21, 2020

Raoni Metuktire, a chief of the Kayapo people in northern Brazil, is an iconic
defender of the Amazon rainforest who is in his 90s (AFP Photo/CARL DE SOUZA)

Rio de Janeiro (AFP) - Brazil's best-known indigenous leader, chief Raoni Metuktire, is improving and expected to be released soon from hospital after a health scare, doctors said Monday.

Raoni, an iconic defender of the Amazon rainforest who is in his 90s, has been diagnosed with two gastric ulcers and an intestinal infection, his medical team at the Dois Pinheiros hospital in the state of Mato Grosso said.

But "his clinical condition is improving," they said in their latest update.

"He is expected to be released from the hospital soon."

Raoni, a chief of the Kayapo people in northern Brazil, was hospitalized Thursday for weakness, shortness of breath and diarrhea.

He was first taken to a hospital in the small town of Colider before being transferred Saturday to Dois Pinheiros, a larger hospital in the city of Sinop, when his condition deteriorated.

Raoni's health began to decline after he lost his wife of more than 60 years, Bekwyjka, who died in June after a stroke.

Known for his colorful feather headdresses and the large disc inserted in his lower lip, Raoni has traveled the world raising awareness of the threat posed by destruction of the Amazon.

Doctor Fernanda Quinelato said he had received two blood transfusions.

"His general health is good, he is lucid, with controlled blood pressure and no fever," she said in the statement.

A test for the new coronavirus came back negative.

The virus has hit Brazil's indigenous communities hard. It claimed the life of another top indigenous leader, Paulinho Paiakan, last month.

Another of Brazil's best-known indigenous leaders, chief Aritana Yawalapiti, 71, is in serious condition with suspected COVID-19, his son told AFP Monday.

El Salvador children, priest launch initiatives to stave off hunger

Yahoo – AFP, Carlos Mario MARQUEZ, August 22, 2020

Priest Moises Rutilio Moran checks the water filters in a pond where he
breeds fish at his church in Santa Ana, El Salvador

Priest Moises Rutilio Moran didn't sit twiddling his thumbs when the coronavirus pandemic struck and his church emptied -- like many Salvadorans, he got creative helping combat the country's COVID-induced lack of food.

Determined that his church in the city of Santa Ana "shouldn't be a burden on the community," Moran and his staff dug a pond and started selling affordable fish to the local community.

Some 50 kilometers (30 miles) east in El Chaparral, a village of 107 families, children began rolling up their sleeves, cultivating a vegetable garden that is providing food for the community.

The pandemic and its economic woes have sent the price of fruit and vegetables soaring, and left Salvadorans scheming plans to feed themselves.

"I know how to preach, teach the catechism, manage groups, but launching a tilapias project, never," the 41-year-old priest told AFP..

After churches were closed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, Moran started collecting groceries to help 1,700 families, "not just poor people with houses made of (metal) sheets" but also lawyers and engineers who lost their jobs.

However, he soon realized he no longer had the means to pay for the electricity, water, telephone and internet at his church, Our Lady of Rosario.

Church caretaker Roberto Rivas prepares fish bred in a pond to be sold to 

parishioners and visitors in Santa Ana, El Salvador

Thus his project was born: provide cheap fish to the community whose payments would keep the church running "in a reciprocal manner."

On a makeshift table next to the pond, 65-year-old church caretaker Roberto Rivas is in charge of gutting the fish.

While the work is rewarding, Rivas told AFP he hopes the church "opens soon because in these worrying times the faithful need us to accompany them."

After five months of closure, churches are tentatively hoping to reopen their doors on August 30.

While many parish priests laid off their employees due to a lack of resources, Moran's new enterprise means he's actually hired new staff.

William Hernandez, 42, was left unemployed after the pharmacy he worked in for 16 years closed due to the crisis.

Now he wields a net and catches fish "chosen by the customer" while Omar Blanco, 29, serves as one of two workers making deliveries by motorcycle.

A girl holds a bundle of radishes in the community vegetable garden in El Chaparral

"It's an excellent initiative discovering sources of work in the midst of a difficult situation in which we have to reinvent methods (of generating income) for the church," priest Oscar Lagos told AFP as he arrived with a cooler to buy some fish.

'Getting children involved'

In the village of El Chaparral radishes, peppers, cabbages, tomatoes, spinach, blackberries and watermelons grown by the children are a welcome boost.

"It's an initiative in our El Chaparral community aimed at getting children and young people involved," said Victorina Alvarenga, a 32-year-old mother who joins her nine-year-old daughter Sheyla in the garden.

The vegetable patch is divided into plots named after the child in charge. One part of the garden is dedicated to providing food for the elderly.

"We're teaching children the value of solidarity so that when they're adults, they'll be good people," said Alvarenga.

A month after planting seeds, the first harvest produced huge radishes that were enthusiastically "ripped up" by the children.

A boy collects radishes in the El Chaparral community garden

"I'm delighted because I'm bringing fresh food to my family," said Sheyla proudly.

"I don't have any money but I bring healthy food."

The idea has caught on and in the neighboring village of Dimas Rodrigues a score of children have started another community garden.

"We want to produce our own food so we're not dependent on the market," said the group's leader, Pedro Diaz, 22.

Felicia Mijango, in charge of a union of rural communes, says the idea has its roots in the confinement of 10,000 Salvadoran refugees who fled to Ocotepeque in Honduras as civil war raged a decade ago.

The refugees couldn't leave their UN camp that was surrounded by barbed wire so they started growing their own fruit and vegetables.

Mijango says her union actively supports around 100 family and community allotments with help from American and Canadian NGOs.

Amazon indigenous protesters vow indefinite roadblock

Yahoo – AFP, Joao Laet,  August 20, 2020

Members of the Kayapo indigenous tribe are blocking a highway through the Brazilian
Amazon demanding help against the new coronavirus and an end to illegal mining
and deforestation

Armed with spears and bows, dozens of indigenous protesters in Brazil vowed Thursday to maintain a roadblock on a key highway until the authorities listen to their demands for help fighting COVID-19 and deforestation.

Members of the Kayapo Mekranoti ethnic group have been blocking highway BR-163 through the Amazon since Monday outside the northern town of Novo Progresso.

But they vowed that they would no longer lift their blockade periodically to let truckers through, as they had done for the past two days.

"We're going to stay right here until the government sends its representatives to talk with us," one protest leader, Mudjere Kayapo, told AFP.

The highway is the main artery to ship corn and soybeans, two of Brazil's main exports, from the country's central-western agricultural heartland.

A federal judge has ordered the protesters to stand down, citing the economic damage they are inflicting.

She rejected an appeal Wednesday, and has ordered the federal police to remove the protesters if they do not comply.

The Kayapo Mekranoti warned that would lead to violence.

"We do not want to fight. But we will not accept the army or police coming here and removing us by force. If that happens, there will be blood spilled on the asphalt," they said in a letter to the government's indigenous affairs office, FUNAI.

Wearing feather headdresses and body paint, the protesters burned a letter from FUNAI rejecting some of their demands and calling for patience on others.

The Kayapo Mekranoti are demanding far-right President Jair Bolsonaro's government release funds they say they are owed for environmental damage the highway caused to their land.

They also want help fighting illegal mining, deforestation and the new coronavirus, which has hit especially hard among indigenous people in the region.

In Brazil, the country with the second-biggest COVID-19 death toll worldwide after the United States, 26,000 indigenous people have been infected and 690 have died in the pandemic, according to the Brazilian Indigenous Peoples' Association (APIB).

"Our rights are being violated," the protesters said.

"Indigenous health is growing more fragile by the day... We are here to defend the Amazon and protect our territory. But the government wants to open indigenous lands to illegal projects, including mining, logging and ranching."

Brazil's indigenous chief Raoni leaves hospital

Yahoo – AFP, July 25, 2020

A photo released by the Hospital Dois Pinheiros shows indigenous leader Raoni
Metuktire at a press conference at the hospital after being released by his doctors
in Sinop, Mato Grosso State, Brazil, on July 25, 2020 (AFP Photo/Diego OLIVEIRA)

Brasília (AFP) - Brazil's best-known indigenous leader, chief Raoni Metuktire, was released from hospital Saturday after a health scare and gave thanks for all the support he received during his convalescence.

"I want to thank everyone who supported me, who heard about me every day, about my health. I thank you, now I am healed," said Raoni, an iconic defender of the Amazon rainforest, in a brief statement as he left the hospital.

In a wheelchair and visibly emaciated, the 90-year-old chief appeared at a press conference at Dois Pinheiros hospital in Sinop, Mato Grosso state, where he spent one week being treated for gastric ulcers, an inflamed colon and an intestinal infection.

His statement was translated by his grandson Paxton Metuktire.

"He is still a little weak because he is finishing recovering, but he is strong enough to continue leading his people," said Dr. Douglas Yanai, part of the team of eight specialists who treated him.

Raoni was to return by plane around 1:00 pm local time (1600 GMT) to his home of Metuktire, in the Xingu indigenous territory, the hospital reported.

Doctors said the "deep sadness" he felt on the death of his wife Bekwyjka, his companion for 60 years, on June 23 contributed to his condition.

Known for his colorful feather headdresses and the large disc inserted in his lower lip, Raoni, a chief of the Kayapo people, has traveled the world raising awareness of the threat posed by destruction of the Amazon.

In his brief statement, Raoni called for people to respect one another, because ill health can come "any day."

"Let's love, let's respect each other, because we don't know if tomorrow our friends are going to get sick. We have to be together," he said.

Judge orders Brazil's Bolsonaro to wear mask

Yahoo – AFP, June 23, 2020

In this file photo taken on May 12, 2020 Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro wears a
face mask as he arrives at a flag-raising ceremony at the Alvorada Palace in
Brasilia (AFP Photo/EVARISTO SA)

Brasília (AFP) - A federal judge in Brazil ordered President Jair Bolsonaro to wear a face mask in public, after the far-right leader repeatedly flouted the coronavirus containment measures in place in Brasilia.

Judge Renato Borelli ordered Bolsonaro, who has famously compared the new coronavirus to a "little flu," to stop ignoring the capital city's mask decree, or face a fine of 2,000 reals ($390).

"The president has a constitutional obligation to follow the laws in force in the country, as well as to promote the general welfare of the people, which means taking the necessary measures to protect citizens' right to health," the judge wrote in his ruling Monday.

The decision also applies to Bolsonaro's cabinet and staff.

The case was brought by a lawyer who said the president should be held to account for his "irresponsible behavior."

Masks have been mandatory in public in Brasilia since April to curb the spread of the virus.

Bolsonaro regularly breaks the social distancing measures in place in the capital, giving handshakes and hugs at rallies by his supporters, hosting barbecues, hitting the shooting range and going out for hotdogs, generally without a mask.

His former education minister Abraham Weintraub was fined 2,000 reals last week for attending a pro-Bolsonaro rally in Brasilia without a mask.

Brazil has the second-highest COVID-19 death toll in the world, after the United States, at more than 51,000.

Chile reports more than 7,000 virus deaths under new counting method

Yahoo – AFP, June 20, 2020

The toll thus increased by 3,069, officials said; pictured are health care staff
transferring a patient with symptoms of COVID-19 to San Jose Hospital,
in Santiago, on June 18, 2020 (AFP Photo/MARTIN BERNETTI)

Santiago (AFP) - Chile nearly doubled its coronavirus death toll Saturday to more than 7,000 under a new tallying method that includes probable fatalities from COVID-19.

The toll thus increased by 3,069, Rafael Araos of the heath ministry said as he revealed officially for the first time the new government counting methodology.

The revelation of this tallying method last week by CIPER, an investigative news organization, prompted the resignation of health minister Jaime Manalich.

Until now the death toll from confirmed coronavirus cases in the South American country was 4,075.

Infections have risen steadily in Chile even though it began taking emergency measures in February -- including widespread testing and the closure of borders and schools -- making it one of the first Latin American countries to do so.

The capital Santiago and its seven million people were placed under lockdown more than a month ago, followed recently by the cities of Valparaiso and Vina del Mar.

Costa Rica legalises same-sex marriage in first for Central America

Yahoo – AFP, Marco SIBAJA, May 26, 2020

Costa Rica is the first Central American country to legalise same-sex marriage
(AFP Photo/Ezequiel BECERRA)

San José (AFP) - Costa Rica legalised same-sex marriage on Tuesday, becoming the first Central American country to do so and sparking an emotional response from rights campaigners as the first weddings were held overnight.

Celebrations were cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic, but a special program about LGBT rights was broadcast on public television and online after a court ruling came into force at midnight.

"This change will bring about a significant social and cultural transformation, allowing thousands of people to marry," said President Carlos Alvarado in the program.

Costa Rica is the eighth country in the Americas to recognise same-sex marriage -- a group that includes Brazil, Ecuador and Argentina, as well as Canada and the US.

The Supreme Court in August 2018 ruled that a ban on gay marriage was unconstitutional and gave parliament 18 months to amend the laws. It failed to do that, so the provision was automatically annulled.

"Costa Rica is celebrating today: marriage equality has become a reality in the country -- the first one in Central America," tweeted the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA)..

"We rejoice with you: congratulations to all those who worked so hard to make it happen!"

Gay rights activists have long campaigned for the right to
marry in Costa Rica (AFP Photo/Ezequiel BECERRA)

Victor Madrigal-Borloz, the UN's Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, called the change "an extraordinary moment of celebration" in a tweet posted on Monday.

Strong Catholic tradition

He expressed "gratitude to the work of so many activists, and of quiet reflection of the lives of those who lived without seeing this moment".

Moments after midnight, Dunia Araya and Alexandra Quiros tied the knot in a town northwest of the capital, San Jose. The young women, both dressed in white, took their vows before a notary wearing a face mask as part of measures to stop the spread of coronavirus.

Costa Rica has a strong Catholic tradition and has also seen a proliferation of evangelical churches in recent decades. Many followers of those denominations are opposed to gay marriage.

Alvarado, a centrist, was elected to the presidency in April 2018 by comfortably seeing off a challenge from evangelical preacher Fabricio Alvarado, who campaigned against same-sex marriage.

The Supreme Court decision complied with an opinion given by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, declaring that homosexual couples have the same rights to marry as heterosexual ones.

Sao Paulo mayor: cancer survivor, COVID fighter

Yahoo – AFP, Paula RAMON,, May 23, 2020

Sao Paulo Mayor Bruno Covas has barely left city hall, where he has a bed in his
office, since he implemented the most aggressive stay-at-home policies in Brazil
(AFP Photo/NELSON ALMEIDA)

Sao Paulo (AFP) - Isolated in his office at city hall, Sao Paulo Mayor Bruno Covas is waging a war on two fronts: the cancer survivor is also leading the fight against coronavirus at its epicenter in Latin America.

It's safe to say February 26, 2020 is a day the 40-year-old mayor won't forget anytime soon: just as he was starting immunotherapy for lymphoma -- his third cancer in as many months -- he got the news that Latin America's first case of the new coronavirus had been confirmed in his city.

Covas had already beaten his two previous tumors into remission with chemotherapy -- one in his upper stomach, one in his liver -- and he reacted to the arrival of the coronavirus pandemic with the same grit.

"I never considered stepping down," he told AFP in an interview at his offices, wearing a tight-fitting face mask that matched his black outfit.

"The doctors never said I needed to."

Bald and gaunt from his chemo, Covas bears the physical signs of the battles he has waged. But he is working virtually around the clock to run the pandemic response in the hardest-hit city in Latin America, with 40,000 infections and more than 3,000 deaths so far.

Together with Sao Paulo state Governor Joao Doria, Covas implemented the most aggressive stay-at-home policies in Brazil, ordering the closure of schools and non-essential businesses on March 24.

That flew in the face of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, who condemned the "hysteria" around the virus and accused state and local authorities of needlessly hurting the economy.

Covas says his biggest battle is getting citizens in Brazil's biggest city to respect the stay-at-home.

Sao Paulo is Brazil's economic capital, and the bustle of business and the street is what the city is all about.

Monitoring based on cell phone location data indicates that only about half its 12 million residents are respecting the stay-at-home -- a source of frustration for Covas.

"But at the same time, it's rewarding to see that six million people are respecting it," he said.

"We've been in quarantine for almost two months, so each day that passes we're asking people to make an extra sacrifice."

The mayor, who took office in April 2018, is leading by example.

Since the stay-at-home started, he has barely left city hall, where he has installed a bed in his office.

Aside from occasional hospital visits or meetings with officials, Covas remains inside his 15-storey headquarters.

A divorced father of one, he receives visits a few times a week from his 14-year-old son.

Other than that, he mainly spends his time working. He says he wants to be available 24 hours a day for the people of Sao Paulo.

With Brazil emerging as the latest flashpoint in the pandemic, with more than 21,000 deaths, and the situation not expected to peak here until June, Covas' stay at city hall probably won't be over soon.

Not about ideology

Covas, who hails from the center-right Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB), is the grandson of a longtime Sao Paulo political bigwig, Mario Covas.

A lawyer by training, he was elected a state lawmaker at 26, then became deputy mayor under Doria. When his mentor stepped down to run for governor, Covas took over at city hall.

Covas acknowledged the challenges his administration has faced handling the pandemic, but defended its response.

"We're getting through the crisis in better shape than other major capitals," he said.

Local hospitals are near the breaking point, with 88 percent of intensive care beds full, but Covas said he was proud they had not been forced to turn anyone away.

He and his team are racing to reinforce the health care system. They have opened field hospitals that are caring for 2,500 COVID-19 patients and added hundreds of additional beds to existing hospitals.

He openly discusses the frustrations of watching Bolsonaro downplay the pandemic even as his city is being ravaged.

"The president doesn't care about medical protocols. That is doing a lot of damage," he said.

"This isn't a left-wing virus or a right-wing virus," he added.

"It's a scientific reality, and we have to confront it."

Brazil tops 10,000 deaths from COVID-19

Yahoo – AFP, Pascale TROUILLAUD, May 10, 2020

A funeral worker wearing protective clothing as a preventive measure against the
coronavirus walks through Caju Cemetary in Rio de Janeiro on May 9 (AFP Photo/
Carl DE SOUZA)

Rio de Janeiro (AFP) - Brazil, the hardest-hit Latin American country in the coronavirus pandemic, has surpassed 10,000 deaths, according to figures released Saturday by the Ministry of Health.

While Brazil's numbers are high -- 10,627 deaths and 155,939 confirmed cases -- scientists think the real figures could be 15 or even 20 times worse, given the country's inability to carry out widespread testing.

Congress and the Supreme Court decreed an official mourning period of three days and lawmakers asked Brazilians to follow health authorities' recommendations to reduce infection rates while the country prepares for "a safe and definitive return back to normal."

Meanwhile President Jair Bolsonaro, who opposes stay-at-home measures due to their impact on the country's economy, was seen jet skiing on Lake Paranoa in Brasilia, according to the Metropoles news website.

Cemetary workers place the coffin of a coronavirus victim in a grave cubicle at Caju
Cemetary in Rio de Janeiro on May 9 (AFP Photo/Carl DE SOUZA)

Officials told AFP he did not plan to make a statement on the country reaching 10,000 deaths.

In the last 24 hours alone, the nation saw 10,611 new cases and 730 fatalities, Brazil's second-highest daily death toll, after a record set on Friday (751 deaths).

'Situation is dire'

Resisting pressure from Bolsonaro, the governors of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro states have said they will extend the partial quarantine measures in force since March until the end of May.

The pandemic has given rise to ongoing governmental clashes, pitting the president against governors and mayors who have implemented social distancing and confinement measures to contain the virus' spread -- efforts supported by the country's Supreme Court.

Satere-mawe indigenous men navigate the Ariau River during the coronavirus 

pandemic at the Sahu-Ape community located some 80 kilometers from Manaus 

in Amazonas State on May 5 (AFP Photo/RICARDO OLIVEIRA)

In announcing that his state's lockdown would be prolonged, Sao Paulo Governor Joao Doria said Friday: "We are at the height of this pandemic. The situation is dire."

His southeastern state of almost 46 million inhabitants has seen more than 3,600 deaths and over 44,400 cases.

Neighboring Rio de Janeiro state, home to more than 16 million people, follows with 1,653 deaths and 16,929 infections. Less populated states such as Ceara, Pernambuco and Amazonas already have around a thousand dead each.

Amazonas, home to a number of indigenous tribes that are extremely vulnerable to the virus, has recorded 232 deaths per million inhabitants, almost three times the rate in Sao Paulo state.

Workers dig graves at Nossa Senhora Cemetery in Manaus, Brazil on May 8 

amid the coronavirus pandemic (AFP Photo/MICHAEL DANTAS)

While Brazil's coronavirus peak is not expected for several more weeks, seven states have already seen their intensive care units fill to 90 percent capacity.

Bolsonaro, who has compared the coronavirus to a "little flu," tweeted Saturday that the country's "army of unemployed continues to grow" in reference to a factory closure in the northeast, before asking "is chaos coming?"

On Thursday the country's economy minister, Paulo Guedes, said Brazil could face "economic collapse" in a month's time due to stay-at-home measures.

According to the IMF, Brazil risks a 5.3 percent contraction in GDP this year.

Worldwide the virus has claimed more than 277,000 lives and the number of coronavirus cases has surpassed four million, according to an AFP tally.