Brazil: São Paulo City drops vaccine passports and masks in cabs

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The São Paulo City Hall has ended the mandatory requirement for proof of vaccination against the covid-19 in events and establishments in São Paulo’s state capital. The change in the rule is part of a decree published last Saturday, May 14, in the city’s Official Gazette.

The text signed by Mayor Ricardo Nunes (MDB) and the Municipal Health Secretary, Luiz Carlos Zamarco, revokes three articles of a decree from August last year that established the vaccine passport.

On September 1, 2021, events with more than 500 people required proof of vaccination against Covid with at least one dose of the immunizer.

In early January, with the advance of the omicron variant of the new coronavirus, however, the city government extended the obligation to all events and with the proof of two doses – the announcement was made during the cancellation of the street Carnaval, which ended up being organized without authorization by Carnaval blocks last month.

Rio de Janeiro City ended the vaccine passport requirement last April 26.

Data from the Municipal Health Secretariat show that about 31.3 million vaccines against Covid-19 were applied in the city of São Paulo.

In April, a survey commissioned by the National Confederation of Industry (CNI) revealed that 71% of Brazilians favor companies requiring their employees to have a vaccine passport. Only 22% of those interviewed said they were against the measure.

MASK

The decree published on Saturday also ends the mandatory use of masks in cabs and app cars. The item is still compulsory in public transportation and health services, such as hospitals.

For Ana Escobar, a professor at the School of Medicine at USP (São Paulo University), vaccines do not prevent a person from transmitting the virus. “So it makes no sense to ask for proof of vaccination,” she says.

With information from Folhapress