For Paola Falcetta, the worst came to pass in the early hours of March 2, 2020. Her motherâs breathing had stopped completely as she lay in the hospital in Porto Alegre, southern Brazil. Italira Falcetta da Silva, 81, contracted coronavirus after being admitted for cardiovascular surgery in late January, and was kept in isolation for weeks. By the time she was transferred to a general ward, she was free from the virus but doctors said she had little chance of survival. âShe was not considered for intubation by then. She was old and there were no intensive care beds. They told me: âthereâs no equipment to help your motherâ,â says Falcetta, a social worker. Instead, Italira represented just another of Brazilâs 400,000-plus victims from Covid-19, which shook her daughter into action.