Mass graves dug in Brazil as COVID-19 death toll mounts

Mass graves are being dug in Brazil's Amazon city of Manaus, amid heightened concerns of the effect of the virus on vulnerable indigenous tribes, according to foreign media.

Enough funeral services cannot be held, and public hospitals are being overwhelmed by the increase in the number of deaths and cases of COVID-19 in the state of Amazonas, one of Brazil's regions hardest-hit by the pandemic.

In Brazil, the death toll has hit nearly 3,000, with 46,348 confirmed cases.

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) emerged in late 2019 in China's Hubei province, and the virus has spread to 210 countries and territories since then.

To date, COVID-19 cases surpassed 2,600,000 globally, resulting in more than 729,000 recoveries and over 185,000 deaths.

On February 11, the WHO officially named the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) as COVID-19, and on March 11, declared it a pandemic.