Manaus, in the Amazon rainforest, is at the epicenter.

It's where the new strain was found.

Its hospitals can hardly cope.

Brazil has started vaccinating people, but any relief from this virus fills a very long way off from Manaus.

Here's our South America correspondent Katie Watson.

This is not the first time announce has been brought to its knees in the cemetery, a reminder of the first wave where digging mass graves was the only way to keep up with the number of people dying.

The biggest city in the Amazon people here feel for gotten again on the second wave is worse.

Last week, the city's overwhelmed hospitals ran out of oxygen supplies is still patchy.

Now people queue at local gas companies in the hope of keeping their loved ones alive.

Don't despair, says this company representative.

Cylinders are now being delivered across the city, but Elke is terrified.

She's had to leave her mother at home with no oxygen to come here.

She only has this one cylinder I eat by Balala talks you have to obey.

Local volunteers like Marcel have stepped in to help bring oxygen to those who need it.

He's looking after five people making daily oxygen runs, but it's taking its toll.

They won't just for the no vote oxygen photo because it asked me.

Okay, so somebody it was just to check out What does the for the Oh hell no.

This is not fixed up.

Doctors are concerned.

The new variant found in the Amazon region is overwhelming.

Already packed hospitals.

Normally there are eight beds in here, one patient to each room.

But in the past few days, doctors had to double that.

Each patient now shares their 16 beds and they still have to find space to grow.

Jamie is the oldest here, 77.

His survival, says his son Fabio is down to luck.

The rest of the ward is full of young people.

This woman's 23 next to her, a man in his thirties.

It's shocked doctors here, here in my house, we have the center here now, But in other parts of Brazil this new strain we're gonna go.

So thank God the vaccinations already started.

There's concern, though, that vaccines aren't getting to those who need them.

But as we prepare to leave some good news, Jamie reacts to his family for the first time since he became ill, a rare glimpse of hope in otherwise dark times here.

Katie Watson, BBC News in my House.