Thousands of mass graves dug at Sao Paulo cemetery as Brazil deals with explosion in coronavirus cases

THOUSANDS of mass graves are being dug in a Sao Paulo cemetery as Brazil deals with an explosion in Covid-19 cases.

The Vila Formosa cemetery in the city — the largest cemetery in Latin America — is at bursting point.

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Burials are up by 50% compared to last year and more than 15,000 new graves have been opened.

Around half of daily burials are for Covid-19 victims.

The South American country registered 807 daily deaths on Monday while 620 died in the US over the same 24-hour period.

Brazil's outbreak is now second globally only to the US, with more than 377,000 confirmed cases.

And the total death toll could climb five-fold to 125,000 by early August, a study has warned.

Gravediggers in the South American country are working 12-hour shifts to cope with the demand for space.

At least 24,000 people have died in the country from the virus.

But with limited testing it is feared that the death toll could be much higher.

President Jair Bolsonaro previously dismissed the deadly virus as “little flu” and has slammed state leaders for enforcing social distancing measures.

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