Brazil Rio de Janeiro may maintain mandatory mask use in enclosed spaces

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Rio de Janeiro City Hall expects to reach 75% of the population vaccinated by next Saturday. This is the percentage that the Scientific Committee to Fight Covid (CEEC), comprising experts who advise the SMS in the guidelines on the disease in the state, suggested to lift mandatory mask use in the city.

Although last month he planned to follow the CEEC’s recommendation, Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes has signaled that he may maintain mandatory mask use in enclosed places. “I don’t know yet if I will follow the scientific committee, although the committee is mandating this. We should probably maintain the requirement,” he said during a live stream on Facebook.

Paes recalled that although some restrictions are in place, the city is heading towards lifting several of them, based on data from the scientific committee.

“We are moving towards this. I believe that by Saturday we should reach the target for the third phase proposed by the scientific committee, with 75% of the total population vaccinated and immunized with the two doses. There are a number of milestones foreseen by the scientific committee, among others, the end of the obligation to wear masks in enclosed spaces,” he said.

According to the SMS figures, 83% of the population over 12 years of age has been fully vaccinated, and among people over 18, the rate is 90.7%. “We have vaccinated 90% of the target population, everyone we set out to vaccinate. Compared to any country in Europe, not to mention the United States, countries with high vaccination rates, Rio is way ahead. This is exceptional news,” the Mayor said.

The Mayor added that the number of hospitalizations, severe cases and deaths from Covid-19 has been dropping in recent weeks in Rio and there were no new hospitalizations between Tuesday and Wednesday. “We have had 1,500 people hospitalized, mainly, at Ronaldo Gazolla, in Acari [the city’s principal designated hospital for Covid-19]. At this moment we should have fewer than 100 people hospitalized. That is also exceptional news.”

On the vaccine passport requirement, a measure that does not please everyone, it had positive results: “This is good news that not everyone likes. Since the vaccine passport came into force, 370,000 people who had not taken the first dose were vaccinated. In other words, the passport is doing its job. This was our goal,” he explained.

According to Paes, the progress towards a better pandemic scenario in the capital is the result of vaccination. “This means, very objectively, that the vaccine works, it saves lives. We are experiencing a much better situation, of course, which doesn’t mean that the pandemic is over, we are still in a worldwide pandemic situation,” he alerted.

Despite the current better scenario, he said that should there be any change in the incidence curves of the disease, the City Hall will again implement the required measures, as is being done in other countries where the numbers are rising again.

According to Paes, the capital city is headed for a very comfortable situation. In the Northern Hemisphere, there is a direct link with the upcoming arrival of winter, representing the worst period for people to contract lung-related diseases, but this has already occurred in Rio de Janeiro.

“In Rio, we are entering summer, a period in which people generally have fewer colds. We are in a good moment. Let’s wait for the 75%. By Friday, Saturday, next week, we will decide to follow the scientific committee’s recommendations. In my opinion, the scientific committee sets the limit of what we can authorize. If I decide to be more restrictive, I will be more restrictive, but we are in a very comfortable situation at the moment,” he said, adding that the city makes decisions based on science.