Family of woman who died from Covid after giving birth sues Brazilian state

On the house veranda on Ilha do Governador in Rio de Janeiro, Lidiane Frazão’s mother, Eny, is seated, while standing beside her are Lidiane’s son, Felipe Gabriel, and Lidiane’s sister, Mônika. Photograph: Leonardo Carrato/The Guardian

In the early weeks of the Covid-19 pandemic, Lidiane Vieira Frazão, 35, was expecting her second child but, even at 40 weeks pregnant, she was unable to obtain a doctor’s note to start her maternity leave.

Her job as a funeral agent – at times handling the bodies of people who had died from the virus – was on the long list of “essential services” that could not be suspended during lockdown, according to a decree issued by Brazil’s then-president, Jair Bolsonaro.