Brazil delays yearly Carnival parades due to Omicron variant spread

According to recent statement from health department, spike in Covid-19 cases postpones official celebrations in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, after informal street parades were previously cancelled.

New dates for the parades were re-scheduled in April: RioCarnaval.org shows celebrations from April 20 through April 30 in Rio and official websites of Liga SP and Liesa, the samba school leagues of the two cities, mention April 21, 22, 23 and 30 as Carnival days. This translates into a more than a month and a half delay, as the Carnival was originally set between this year’s February 25 and March 5.

The measure came due to high rise of Omicron cases across Brazil and especially in São Paulo and Rio. Official figures show a jump from 9,476 to 18,513 in São Paulo and from 1,113 to 9,752 cases in Rio de Janeiro at the end of last year. Reports are even grimmer for the first week of 2022, with Covid spiking to 40,979 cases in São Paulo and 50,857 in Rio.

"The decision was made respecting for the current situation of the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil and the need, at this time, to preserve lives and join forces to drive vaccination throughout the country," the official statement quotes.

The postponing of the world-famous Carnival festivities was decided by Mayor Eduardo Paes, Mayor Ricardo Nunes, health secretaries and representatives of the league of samba schools in the two cities.

According to Paes, the parties, attracting huge numbers of both participants and tourists, will be different from the ones in the pre-pandemic period, but the exact way in which the celebrations will be carried on is yet to be announced.

Nevertheless, officials have decided that Sambadrome parades will proceed with no particular changes. However, Covid-19 testing and vaccination checks before entrance are announced to be mandatory.

 

Source: edition.cnn.com, npr.org