Bolivia funeral system collapse

Authorities in the Bolivian city of Cochabamba have reported that over a dozen bodies have been left abandoned on streets or veiled in public locations without the causes of death immediately known.

Due to a recent spike of Covid-19 related deaths, funeral services in the central Bolivian city have been left overwhelmed with bodies piling up, waiting for cremation or burial, as new coronavirus cases rapidly multiply in one of the epicentres of the pandemic in the South American country.

Local authorities are working overtime to dig mass graves to cope with the accelerating impact of the global pandemic.

Despite having relatively low per capita cases of Covid-19 during the early regional expansion of the virus in recent weeks numbers have begun to grow quickly, a toll that is reaching all sectors of society,

On Sunday, María Eidy Roca, Bolivia's Health Minister, announced she taking 'a short break' after testing positive for COVID-19, also stating measures previously put in place have been critical in saving 'more than one million infections and the loss of thousands of lives in this country during May to July.'

According to a tally by Johns Hopkins University, Bolivia has recorded more than 39,297 COVID-19 cases and 1,434 related deaths.

However, the number of infections is thought to be far higher because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected with the virus without feeling sick.

(Representative Image)