Plaque honouring Brazilian victims of Covid-19

Officials at the Cemetery of Penitence, on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, unveiled a plaque in honour of those killed by COVID-19 pandemic on Friday.

Friends and relatives of the victims gathered to watch as workers wrote the names of their loved ones on the growing rolls of COVID-19 victims in the state.

A sad day for Tamires da Silva Neto, just 29 yrs old and spending a lonely Friday paying homage to her mother, aunt and sister, all dead from recent battles with COVID-19, joining more than 200,000 other Brazilians who have lost their lives to the pandemic.

Tamires came holding a picture of her mother, Rosalita da Silva Netto, 60; her 34-year-old sister and her 62-year-old aunt Maria.

She also lost two uncles over the holiday, an almost inconceivable tragedy of five deaths in the course of just over a month.

"No one is immune, no matter your social class, race, or religion. We are all at risk of losing our lives from the disease," Tamires tearfully explained at the memorial, as workers etched the names of her family onto the memorial.

With numbers continuing to rise, Rio's mayor warned Friday city authorities may have to impose lockdown measures once again to stem the tide of infections.

A warning that came too late for the Da Silva Neto family.