Brazil confirms first case of South African variant, makes room for soaring COVID-19 deaths

SAO PAULO - Brazil has recorded its first confirmed case of the highly contagious coronavirus variant discovered in South Africa, a fresh danger sign for a country already ravaged by the world's worst daily death toll and scrambling to make space for burials.

Sao Paulo, the country's biggest city, on Wednesday said it would begin opening some 600 new graves per day, well beyond the record of 426 burials in a day on March 30. The city is also preparing plans for a "vertical cemetery," a crypt with 26,000 drawer-like graves that can be build in 90 days once approved. The detection of the South African variant adds to concerns that a brutal COVID-19 wave battering Brazil may keep breaking grim records for weeks to come. On Tuesday, the Health Ministry reported a single-day record of 4,195 deaths.