‘Grim reaper’ Berlin artist protests Brazil’s virus stance

BERLIN (AP) — A Brazilian activist dressed as the grim reaper is taking to the dark streets of Berlin every night in a one-man protest against what he calls the “deadly health policies” pursued by his homeland’s president in the coronavirus pandemic. Multimedia artist Rafael Puetter, who has been in Berlin for five years and originally comes from Rio de Janeiro, made his nightly excursion in the small hours of Wednesday just as Brazil for the first time reported a 24-hour tally of COVID-19 deaths exceeding 4,000. That made Brazil the third nation to cross the threshold. President Jair Bolsonaro has long downplayed the risks of the coronavirus, and remains fully against lockdowns as damaging to the economy.