Covid-19 surges in Brazil
From Our Own Correspondent
BBC
4.4 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 23 May 2020
⏱️ 28 minutes
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Summary
The number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 has surged in Brazil. And yet there are many Brazilians who fail to observe social distancing or to wear masks. Some people blame President Jair Bolsonaro's handling of the crisis. He has criticised state governors for imposing quarantines. And as Katy Watson reports from Sao Paulo, the pandemic is turning into a political issue as much as a health one. It's been Ramadan in the Muslim world, and this year mosques around the world have been shut under lockdown. Not so in Pakistan, where, as Secunder Kermani has found, the politicians chose not to oppose the clerics who wanted to keep them open for prayer. Policemen stood by powerlessly as the faithful flocked in. Fancy returning to the theatre or ballet? You're not alone. Performers too, have been longing to get back to the stage. That's not possible yet, but in Germany they can now rehearse in studios again rather than their kitchens. Jenny Hill went to watch the Dortmund ballet dust off their tutus and stretch their muscly limbs again. In Lebanon and Syria, it's the season when the jasmine blossoms. The sweet smell is even more powerful this year, as it doesn't need to compete with traffic pollution as much, thanks to lockdown. The jasmine's scent also evokes memories of the past, for some, says Lizzie Porter in Beirut. In Belgium, lockdown has been eased. Many shops have reopened, as have schools, at least in part. Even hairdressers are welcoming customers again. Our correspondent Kevin Connolly has made a tentative return to consumerism - you won't believe what his first purchase was. Presenter: Kate Adie Producer: Arlene Gregorius
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, music radio podcasts. |
| 0:04.6 | Good morning. |
| 0:05.8 | Today the world over, the desire to go out is tempting and the faithful in lockdown |
| 0:11.7 | have wanted to worship. In Pakistan the police have watched |
| 0:16.0 | powerless as the mosques draw people to prayer. In Germany it's the lure of the ballet studio. We hear it's time to dust down the tutu. |
| 0:26.5 | In Lebanon and Syria you follow the heady scent outdoors of the Jasmine now in full blossom and it brings memories and in Belgium online |
| 0:36.2 | purchasing just isn't the same now the shops have reopened so what on earth was |
| 0:41.2 | a hibernating correspondent's first purchase. |
| 0:45.0 | First to Brazil, badly hit by the pandemic, over 300,000 known cases and 20,000 plus deaths. |
| 0:53.2 | There's little testing, so the true figures could be much higher. |
| 0:57.6 | But our correspondent, Katie Watson, says that an increasing number of people are failing to |
| 1:02.1 | take the virus seriously. |
| 1:04.1 | My three-year-olds learned how to adapt to a new reality |
| 1:08.0 | since his nursery came to an abrupt halt two months ago. |
| 1:11.4 | He spends much of his day now building LEGO houses, petrol |
| 1:15.3 | stations and tunnels for his trains to go through. But when we try and play with |
| 1:19.9 | him he tells us they're all shut. That's because of Kona virus, as he calls it. |
| 1:25.0 | Last weekend, we all donned our now compulsory masks and got on our bikes for a bit of fresh air and a change of scene from life in lockdown. |
| 1:34.3 | Runners and cyclists were out in force, but many of them either wearing their mask on their |
| 1:39.5 | chin or not wearing one at all. And every so often I saw groups of people who'd stop to take a snack break, |
| 1:47.0 | laughing, drinking, and definitely not social distancing. |
| 1:51.0 | During San Palo's quarantine, non-essential businesses have had to close, |
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