RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Carnaval blocks will not parade through the streets of São Paulo this year, still due to the covid-19 pandemic. The decision to cancel the festivities was made during a meeting of the city hall with the health surveillance on Thursday, 6.
Despite canceling the street carnival, the city hall decided to keep the samba school parades in São Paulo at Sambódromo do Anhembi, which should take place on February 25, 26, 27 and 28. Health protocols will be discussed with the Samba Schools League.
“Due to the epidemiological situation, the street carnival of São Paulo is canceled. We will sit down with the Samba Schools League to agree on a protocol for the parades in the Sambadrome. If they accept the protocols, the parades will be maintained,” said Mayor Ricardo Nunes.
The São Paulo City Hall had authorized 696 parades for the 2022 street carnival, according to a municipal balance sheet dated December 30. Before the city government’s decision, 32 blocos canceled at least 41 parades, and associations representing the city’s blocos said they would not participate in Carnival even if the event was authorized by the city government.
One alternative considered by the city government was to hold the parades at the Interlagos Speedway. However, the Health Secretary affirmed that it is not recommended to hold the event at the race track.
The proposal was also not accepted by the blocos, who also affirmed that they do not admit the hypothesis of holding the street carnival “in contained places, outdoors, such as the Interlagos Autodrome, Memorial da América Latina, Jockey Club, Sambódromo, and others. “That is the private sector’s alternative.”
The city government had signed a R$23 (US$4) million Carnaval sponsorship contract with a company linked to Ambev.
Most capitals have already canceled the festivities, including Belém, Belo Horizonte, Campo Grande, Cuiabá, Curitiba, Florianópolis, Fortaleza, Recife, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, and São Luís.
Throughout the country, covid records continue to rise. Between Tuesday and Wednesday, the 5th, 18,759 people were diagnosed with covid-19, according to data from the National Council of Health Secretaries (Conass), which represents an increase of 122.5% compared to the previous week.
In the city of São Paulo, the omicron variant already accounts for half of the number of cases, according to the city hall – in one month, the average number of hospitalizations for acute respiratory syndrome doubled.