Concern as remote Brazilian tribes seen wearing face masks

Photos of isolated Brazilian tribespeople in surgical masks has caused international alarm as coronavirus numbers in the country lead to shutdowns.

New images showing isolated Brazilian tribespeople wearing surgical masks has caused international alarm as the country becomes the epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic in South America.

The Sateré-Mawé people, also known as the Mawé are a tribe indigenous to the Amazonas state in Brazil.

The remote tribespeople, who are vulnerable to infectious diseases, are estimated to have a population of about 13,300 people.

A coronavirus outbreak in the nearby city of Manaus about 80km from their territory has led authorities to become concerned about their safety, and tribespeople have been issued with surgical masks. Photos have shown men from the tribe video conferencing with a doctor in nearby Sao Paulo.

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Men from the Satere-Mawé tribe are seen wearing surgical masks after a coronavirus outbreak in a nearby city. Picture: Ricardo Oliveira/AFP

The photos have raised international alarm as the tribes is particularly vulnerable to infectious disease. Picture: Ricardo Oliveira/AFP

Brazil is now the epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic in South America. Picture: Ricardo Oliveira/AFP

In the nearby city of Manaus more than 530 coronavirus deaths have been recorded, however concerning burial numbers have led some to believe the number of deaths may be much higher.

A report by CNN said Manaus city data showed 2435 people had been buried in the month of April alone – compared with 871 people in the same month last year.

Brazil’s right wing President Jair Bolsonaro has opposed stay-at-home measures and the country is now the epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic in South America. The country has recorded more than 135,000 cases of the virus and more than 9146 people have died.

RELATED: Brazil coronavirus outbreak: Manaus on verge of catastrophe

The number of cases has been climbing at a fast rate and regions have recently enforced stay-at-home orders as hospitals in the Amazonas and Sao Paulo regions struggle to cope.

Hospitals are nearly out of intensive care beds in the hardest-hit areas, including Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Manaus, the biggest city in the Amazon region. In Manaus, refrigerator trucks are being used to transport bodies, and the dead are being buried in mass graves as authorities struggle to cope.

Mr Bolsonaro, who has compared COVID-19 to a “little flu,” regularly speaks out against stay-at-home measures by state and local authorities, saying they are unnecessarily damaging Latin America’s biggest economy.

A group including a young child talk on a smart phone with a doctor. Picture: Ricardo Oliveira/AFP

He said he understood “the virus problem” and believed that “we must save lives”.

“But there is a problem that’s worrying us more and more … and that’s the issue of jobs, of the stalled economy,” Mr Bolsonaro said.

Sebastiao Salgado, a Brazilian photojournalist, sent an open letter to the President calling for “urgent measures” to save the indigenous peoples of the Amazon.

“The indigenous peoples of Brazil face a serious threat to their own survival with the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said the letter.

“Today with this new scourge spreading rapidly throughout Brazil, (the Amazon’s indigenous people) may disappear completely since they have no means of combating COVID-19.

“Brazil owes a debt to its first inhabitants. It is time to do what should have been done a long time ago,” wrote Mr Salgado.

The letter was co-signed by celebrities including Brad Pitt and Madonna, Paul McCartney, Richard Gere and Meryl Streep and was backed by an online petition which has gathered more than 215,000 signatures.

– with AFP