Crowded subways and teeming markets in Brazil as world watches on in horror

Almost one year after Brazil recorded its first Covid-19 death, the country is enduring its deadliest moment of the pandemic to date. But despite the record 1,910 new deaths recorded on Wednesday, life in Brazil's major cities largely continues as normal.

On Praça da República square in downtown São Paulo, the scene of commuters coming and going in Brazil's biggest city harks back to pre-pandemic times.

The square's roaring street trade remains largely unaffected. The difference being that, alongside sweets and phone cases, most kerbside sellers now offer flimsy facemasks and hand sanitizer.

Antônio is one such merchant. When the pandemic struck, he began hawking assorted face coverings alongside his usual selection of beach towels and swimwear at his stall in downtown São Paulo.

"There aren't as many people as there were before the pandemic, but I still sell plenty", he explains. "I guess people are still going to the beach."

Covid-19 has claimed the lives of over 260,000 Brazilians and the current wave of infections is the worst yet. Average daily deaths in the country have remained above 1,000 for almost six straight weeks.

Whereas Brazil's previous peaks occurred in specific regions, the current wave is nationwide. Intensive care unit occupancy rates are at critical levels in 19 of Brazil's 27 states.

"We're beyond a health crisis", says clinical pathologist Jonathan Vicente. "With intensive care units full, people who suffer heart attacks and other severe problems will go untreated."

Much of the public fear surrounding the latest wave concerns the prevalence of the so-called Brazilian coronavirus variant, discovered in the Amazonian city of Manaus and since encountered in the UK.

According to Jesem Orellana, an epidemiologist at the Fiocruz public health research centre in Manaus, while Brazil's crisis is a warning to the rest of the world, the Brazilian coronavirus variant is unlikely to cause catastrophe in other countries.

"I think the UK is right to be cautious, they're working to avoid the situation we saw in Manaus. The problem isn't the variant itself, it's the poor decisions made by the Brazilian health authorities to let this variant spread around the country."

What is a concern, however, is that uncontrolled virus transmission in Brazil could create other new variants, prolonging the global pandemic indefinitely.

"The situation in Brazil has become a threat to humanity", Mr Orellana tells The Daily Telegraph. "We've been unable to stop the circulation of the virus and soon enough we'll have the UK, US or Japan telling us they've found another variant originating in Brazil."

"Today, Brazil is an open-air laboratory for the coronavirus. Tomorrow, it will be a cemetery."

Meanwhile, far-Right President Jair Bolsonaro continues his crusade against social isolation measures and mask use.

"If it were up to me, we'd never have a lockdown", he told supporters on Wednesday. "It hasn't worked anywhere in the world."

During a ceremony on Thursday morning, the president urged Brazilians to "stop whining." "How long are they going to keep crying?"

At the end of February, Mr Bolsonaro complained about what he called "the side effects" of mask use, quoting an unscientific poll from a German university to suggest face coverings may cause "irritability, headaches, difficulty in concentration, unhappiness... vertigo and fatigue".

Approaching collapse, states around the country have reinstated stricter isolation measures. As of this Saturday, the state of São Paulo will enter a 14-day quarantine, during which time only essential services may operate.

However, critics are skeptical about the move's effectiveness, as schools, universities and churches will remain open.

Meanwhile, street sellers such as Antônio plan to continue working regardless.

"The last time we had [stricter quarantine measures] there were still people out here with their stalls. So, I'll probably be here too, I need to earn money somehow".

Last year, the federal government launched a coronavirus emergency aid scheme for the unemployed and informal workers, paying R$ 600 (roughly £80) per month to each beneficiary.

The program temporarily brought poverty down to the lowest level in decades, but was scrapped in December due to budgetary constraints.

Without a replacement benefits scheme, many Brazilians like Antônio face a daunting choice.

"Sure, I'd rather be isolating at home, but if I don't work, there's no food on the table".