Rio de Janeiro City Hall releases private events with 5,000 vaccinated people without masks

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The city of Rio de Janeiro, which until recently faced an explosion of new cases of Covid-19 with the Delta variant, will promote next month three events with a capacity of up to 5,000 people in which attendees will be able to go unmasked and will not need to keep their distance, but will have to prove they are vaccinated.

The city hall of Rio de Janeiro has authorized a private party in a hotel for 500 guests and two events for up to 5,000 people to be held in October. The attendees will have a protocol to follow, and everyone must be tested for Covid-19 and have their vaccination up to date.

“The general population still has to wear a mask and keep their distance, but at these events, people will be properly tested and vaccinated. There will be no need to wear a mask,” said the city’s Health Secretary, Daniel Soranz.

The city hall has already been gradually releasing the public presence in soccer stadiums. It considers that the events serve as a test for relaxing the restrictions imposed due to the pandemic.

According to the secretary, in the city, only nightclubs, discos, and dance halls have not yet been released to start working again, which should happen soon.

“We are already living the new normal,” stated Soranz.

Questioned about a federal law approved by the City Council last year that deals with the mandatory use of masks in closed places, the secretary said that “there is no limitation” for October events in the city’s understanding.

After facing a high number of cases in August due to the Delta variant progression, Rio reached last Thursday, the 23rd, the lowest hospital bed occupation rate since the beginning of the pandemic, with about 53% occupation and a little more than 500 people hospitalized. At the peak of the pandemic in the city, hospitals had about 1,400 people admitted.

According to Rio’s City Hall data, 99% of adults living in the city have already been vaccinated with the first dose against Covid, and 66% have completed the vaccination cycle. Currently, the town is vaccinating 13-year-old adolescents and applying booster doses in the elderly and immunosuppressed people and the second dose in adults who have not yet completed the cycle.

“These releases send a message that everything is fine, but we still can’t let our guard down,” said health management specialist Chrystina Barros from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ).

“Openness is inevitable, but there are always risks,” she added.