RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Some of Rio de Janeiro’s main tourist attractions reopened on Saturday, August 15th, after being closed for approximately five months as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. With ticket discounts and new rules, the Sugar Loaf cable car, AquaRio aquarium, Rio Star Ferris wheel, and Christ the Redeemer (Corcovado) are now open to visitors.
With the transmission of the disease still active in the city, protocols such as the obligation to wear masks, a minimum distance between visitors, temperature checks, and reduced capacity, have been adopted.
The Sugar Loaf cable car is operating at only two-thirds of its capacity, and the RioStar Ferris wheel and Corcovado Train are restricting their capacity to half the total public. Christ the Redeemer has undergone a disinfection process to welcome tourists.
Last Wednesday, August 12th, Rio’s tourist attractions launched the ‘Redescubra o Rio’ (Rediscover Rio) campaign, with discounts ranging from 30 to 50 percent for city residents, who are required to provide proof of residence, such as a current utility bill. The Botanical Garden, which had already been welcoming scheduled visits since July 9th, also joined the campaign.
Once one of the most critical states of the coronavirus epidemic in Brazil, Rio de Janeiro has been presenting a downward curve of deaths by Covid-19, as shown by a VEJA survey based on the weekly rolling average, measured by the sum of the number of cases and deaths in the past seven days divided by seven.
Source: Veja