Rosa Luzia Lunardi, 85, hugging Adriana Silva da Costa Souza, 39 who is working as a nurse at the elderly home. The first hug in 5 months. The coronavirus has infected 4.1 million Brazilians, and more than 127, 000 have died. Since March elderly homes have not allowed family visits and the nursing staff has strictly limited all physical contact as much as possible. But at 'Viva Bem' outside São Paulo, the elderly no longer have to live without hugs. A specially made plastic curtain with sleeves allows the family to get really close. And if the relatives can't come, the staff lends a hand. Here's everyone is family as the staff explain. And everyone deserves a real tight hug. The first in five months. Politiken-fotograf Mads Nissen er med i kampen om at vinde dette års World Press Photo. ** OBS MÅ KUN BRUGES TIL OMTALE AF WORLD PRESS PHOTO 2021. DENMARK ONLY/Ingen videresalg/Billedet distribueres som en service for nyhedskunder hos Ritzau Scanpix til redaktionel omtale **. (Foto: Mads Nissen/Politiken/Ritzau Scanpix)
Danish photographer Mads Nissen has won the prestigious World Press Photo of the Year award.
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Nissen took the winning photograph on an assignment in Brazil in which he portrayed the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on life in some of the South American country’s hardest-hit areas.
The photograph shows Rosa Luzia Lunardi (85) and nurse Adriana Silva da Costa Souza at Viva Bem care home, São Paulo, Brazil, on August 5th 2020.
The two people holding are each other while wearing face masks and separated by a plastic sheet.
Nissen, who works as a staff photographer for newspaper Politiken, has now won the international award twice.
“To me, this is a story about hope and love in the most difficult times. When I learned about the crisis that was unfolding in Brazil and the poor leadership of president Bolsonaro who has been neglecting this virus from the very beginning, who’s been calling it ‘a small flu,’ I really felt an urge to do something about it,” Nissen commented via the World Press Photo website.
World Press Photo jury member Kevin WY Lee said the “iconic image of COVID-19 memorializes the most extraordinary moment of our lives, everywhere.”
“I read vulnerability, loved ones, loss and separation, demise, but, importantly, also survival—all rolled into one graphic image. If you look at the image long enough, you’ll see wings: a symbol of flight and hope," Lee said via the award's website.
Photo: Mads Nissen/Ritzau Scanpix
The annual World Press Photo contests reward visual journalism and digital storytelling.
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Photo: Mads Nissen/Ritzau Scanpix
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