Covid-19/Omicron: Almost 2/3 of Brazilian cities have cancelled New Year’s Eve festivities

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – At least 64% of the country’s cities have canceled their public New Year’s Eve celebrations to prevent crowds. The survey was conducted by the National Confederation of Municipalities (CNM).

The decision is mainly due to confirmed cases of the Omicron variant of the novel coronavirus in Brazil and concerns of another wave of infections.

In addition to the cities that have already announced the cancellation of New Year’s Eve festivities, the CNM survey shows that another 23% of city halls have not yet decided whether or not to hold the event. The survey relied on the participation of 2,600 mayors throughout Brazil and was published this Friday, December 10.

The survey also highlights that only 11% of Brazilian cities would maintain the New Year’s Eve celebration event. The city of Rio de Janeiro is among the locations that have decided to hold its New Year’s Eve festivities.

In a press conference on Thursday, December 9, Rio de Janeiro mayor Eduardo Paes assured the New Year’s Eve celebration in the city, despite knowing that there will be crowds on Copacabana beach, known worldwide for its fireworks display.

“Of course it will happen, as a matter of fact, crowds are not banned in the city of Rio. We have them. We have allowed crowds in the city of Rio for 15 weeks, with no masks,” Paes said.

According to member of the Brazilian Association of Collective Health and professor at the Rio de Janeiro State University (UERJ) Gulnar Azevedo, the decision to allow end-of-year celebrations is “premature,” given that the severity of the Omicron variant is still unknown.

“It is very difficult to release New Year’s Eve celebrations, with fireworks, and ask people to keep their physical distance or wear a mask. The most sensible thing to do is to be cautious, while we are not yet sure about the clinical evolution and the transmissibility of the new variant. The decision to allow festivities and crowds in Brazil is premature,” Gulnar Azevedo stressed.

CARNAVAL

The CNM survey also asked mayors about the feasibility of holding Carnaval. The data compiled shows that 63% of cities have decided not to hold the event in 2022. On the other hand, 33% of cities are still considering holding the event, while 1.4% said they will hold Carnaval.