A portrait of hope and love in a country suffering one of the world's hardest coronavirus onslaughts has won World Press Photo of the Year.
An independent jury chose Danish photographer Mads Nissen's portrait, The First Embrace, as the winner in the World Press Photo Foundation's competition.
It shows Rosa Luzia Lunardi, 85, being embraced by nurse Adriana Silva da Costa Souza at Viva Bem care home in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on August 5.
“To me, this is a story about hope and love in the most difficult times,” Nissen said.
“When I learnt about the crisis that was unfolding in Brazil and the poor leadership of President [Jair] Bolsonaro, who has been neglecting this virus from the very beginning, calling it ‘a small flu', I really felt an urge to do something about it.”
His work was chosen as the winner from a short list of six.
Nissen, based in Copenhagen, graduated in 2007 from the Danish School of Journalism and moved to Shanghai to document the human and social consequences of China’s historic economic rise.
Since 2014 he has worked as a staff photographer at the Danish daily Politiken.
“This iconic image of Covid-19 memorialises the most extraordinary moment of our lives, everywhere,” said Kevin Lee, a member of the selection panel.
“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.”
As this year’s winner, Nissen will receive €5,000 ($5,980) and an invitation to the World Press Photo Festival 2021.
His photograph will be part of an annual exhibition at De Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
