 Marco Santos is a grave digger at one of Brazil's worst hit coronavirus hotspots. As bulldozers worked long hours to have burial pits ready, and loved ones of the deceased mourn their passing in Manaus, Santos talked about working at the cemetery. Over there, you can see the number of dead people. Take care. This is not a joke. Use gloves. Use a mask. Wherever you go, be really careful because this disease is serious. Manaus, it is full of sick people. The hospitals are full. That is why I am saying that nobody was prepared for this, and it took everyone by surprise. Hospitals, cemeteries, nurses, grave diggers, nobody was prepared. And we are all involved in this tragedy here. So it's a lot of lot of work here. You can't imagine the amount of work we have here. This thing is not easy. We work day and night, burying bodies. Brazil is one of the worst COVID-19 hit countries. As of the evening of May 20, there are over 291,500 cases with close to 19,000 deaths. According to the Federal Council of Nurses in Brazil, around 12,000 nurses, technicians and assistants have been infected with coronavirus. And as of May 12, 94 had died. Brazil has the highest number of deaths worldwide of nursing professionals surpassing the US, Spain and Italy. Shortage of PPE kits have made healthcare workers more susceptible to the virus and has increased the chances of spreading. On Mother's Day, I couldn't hug my mother. I couldn't meet her. I saw a crime on a balcony from a distance. The same happened with my mother. My wife and I stared at her house and we looked there on the balcony from the car. But we couldn't hug her. Amid all this, there have been protests happening all over the country, both insupportive and against the lockdown. Tensions have built up between Governors of various states and the national government. Suelen, a resident of Paraisópolis, Sao Paulo, along with many others are protesting against the inefficiency of the far-right Brazilian government of Jair Bolsonaro and demanding more aid. I'm here because we are going to continue doing our part but the government has to do theirs. And in Paraisópolis and other power areas, we have been creating alternatives for those in need. And we will continue doing this but the government has to do its part. It must think about the vulnerable communities of Brazil. Meanwhile, Brazil lost its second health minister less than a month, even as cases soar in the country. Brazil's health minister, Nelson Tec, on May 15th, abruptly resigned a day after the country announced nearly 14,000 deaths. Raul, a social worker at Hospital do Coração, felt disillusioned with the instability in the Ministry of Health. I don't know. Everything seems so strange. I don't know what's going on. There's the COVID pandemic and maybe a political game is going on with the resignation of this minister. It scared me. I just found out now. We are at the mercy of those at the top. We don't know what is happening. The corona crisis has also brought to the forefront the crisis in Brazil's health care system. The Sistema Unico de Saúde, S.U.S., Brazil's publicly funded health system, has been facing dire budget cuts over the past several years while the private system has been steadily growing. Today, 55% of the ICU beds in Brazil are in the private system while only serving 25% of the population. 75% of Brazilians still depend on the public S.U.S. hospitals. With the surge in the COVID-19 cases in Brazil, the S.U.S. hospitals have been overcapacity and calls have strengthened from people's movements for the beds in private hospitals to be available to all who need them. Brazil stands third globally in terms of number of COVID-19 positive cases, yet its president is in denial. Meanwhile, socialist countries like Cuba and Venezuela have been successful in limiting the spread of the disease as well as in preventing deaths. These contrasting examples reflect the need for a well-funded public health care system and efficient leadership with a people-centered approach.