São Paulo Plans to Reopen Events, Cinemas, Theatres and Gyms in Yellow Stage Regions

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – On Friday, July 3rd, the government of São Paulo announced that it would allow the reopening of theatres, cinemas, concert halls, gyms and cultural events in regions in the yellow phase of the plan to gradually ease quarantine in the state.

Only events with a seated audience will be allowed and the reopening is expected to occur in the São Paulo capital on July 27th, when the municipality will have reached 4-week stability in the yellow phase.

“I remind everyone that the operation for this phase and for this sector is planned after the region is stable for four weeks in the yellow phase. So it will not be an immediate operation as of Monday, the predictability of four weeks is maintained,” said Secretary of Economic Development Patricia Ellen at a press conference on Friday, July 3rd.

Organizations in the economic sectors of events and cultural activities, such as cinemas and theaters, will still be required to draw up their operating protocol and have the document approved by the state Health Monitor. However, the Government of São Paulo has established a number of restrictions that will need to be complied with to reopen:

• Occupancy below 40 percent of maximum;
• Audience must remain seated;
• Wearing of masks mandatory ;
• Online ticket sales only;
• Seats must be marked respecting social distancing;
• Food and beverages may not be consumed in establishments;
• Adoption of specific protocols;
• Events must control access and the number of people, observing maximum capacity;
• Operation of up to 6 hours daily;

Brazil boasts approximately 300,000 cultural enterprises and, according to sector organizations, about 40 percent of them are located in the state of São Paulo. The cultural sector is among the most affected economic activities by the restrictions against the coronavirus pandemic in the state.

As for the gyms, the sector’s traditional operation will only be allowed in phase 4 (green), according to Economic Development Secretary Patrícia Ellen. In the yellow phase, the workouts must be done individually.

“Gyms under their conventional model are planned to operate in the green phase. In this phase, they will be allowed to operate according to the contingency center with a maximum occupancy of 30 percent of the total capacity, maximum operation of 6 hours, and individual activities are allowed, through scheduling, adoption of specific protocols, wearing of masks, while also following the defined protocols, with emphasis on intensified cleaning of the equipment, three times a day, and restriction of the use of locker rooms,” said Patricia Ellen.

The state management also introduced several rules to allow gyms in regions rated in the yellow phase to be reopened:

• Occupancy below 30 percent of maximum;
• Wearing of masks mandatory;
• Pre-scheduling by clients;
• Operation reduced to 6 hours daily;
• Only individual classes are allowed;
• Sector-specific protocols will need to be approved;
• Use of changing room showers is suspended, only open toilets are allowed;
• Equipment must be cleaned at least three times a day;

Beauty salons, bars, and restaurants

The mayor of São Paulo, Bruno Covas announced that on Saturday, July 4th, a protocol will be signed to reopen bars, restaurants, and beauty salons in the city. The signing will occur at 11 AM, according to Covas during a press conference at the Bandeirantes Palace on Friday, July 3rd.  The partial reopening of these sectors may occur as of Monday, July 6th.

The state government has determined that bars and restaurants will only be allowed to operate during the day in cities that reach and remain in the yellow phase of the São Paulo Plan for the relaxation of quarantine. The state management also points out that the opening times should not exceed six hours daily.

The protocols for restarting cultural activities and gyms, sectors that were also released in the yellow phase of quarantine, in which the capital is included, are still being assessed by the City Hall.

“As of today we are starting an internal discussion with the city’s Health Monitor, given this new decision by the São Paulo state government, to allow the reopening of gyms and also the resumption of cultural events in the yellow phase. As soon as the city hall defines when this will be accomplished in the municipality, we will notify all,” said Mayor Covas.

On Friday, the state administration further enhanced several rules for the operation of bars and restaurants:

• Occupancy below 40 percent maximum;
• A maximum operation of 6 hours, until 5 PM;
• Operations should be limited to outdoor or airy environments, with mandatory seating;
• The obligatory wearing of masks;
• Adoption of specific protocols.

Regarding the reopening of beauty salons, the establishments are also required to follow a set of rules:

• Occupancy below 40 percent maximum;
• Maximum operation 6 hours daily;
• Mandatory wearing of masks in all environments;
• Adoption of general and sector-specific protocols.

“In the yellow phase, as of Monday, July 6th, salons in the capital, southwest, and southeast regions of Greater São Paulo will be allowed to operate, with a 40 percent maximum occupancy and a 6-hour limited operation, with the mandatory wearing of masks and the adoption of sector-specific protocols. The protocols include important details, such as scheduling and distancing, so they must be followed, known and implemented by everyone in the sector,” said Patricia Ellen.

Large events

The state government also announced on Friday that events, conventions, and cultural activities may restart once the state of São Paulo remains stable for four weeks in the green phase (4). According to the government, this is expected to occur on October 12th.

“Events with a standing audience. These can only operate after the green phase, with a maximum occupancy of 60 percent, again with the adoption of protocols, pre-purchase, reserved seats and pre-scheduled times, these events must control access and the number of people, observing the maximum occupancy. These large events are only allowed in the green phase and with the region’s stability for four weeks,” said Patricia Ellen.

The rules for this flexibility stage are valid both for cultural activities (museums, art galleries, collections, cultural centers, libraries, theaters, cinemas and concert halls) and for events in the commercial sector (markets, conferences, and conventions).

The state government’s main guidelines for the reopening of these sectors with a standing public are:

• Occupancy below 60 percent maximum;
• Mandatory wearing of masks;
• Markers arranged to limit the minimum distance of 1.5 meters;
• Adoption of general and sector-specific protocols;
• Online sale only;
• Number and access of people must be controlled.

To begin the state’s gradual reopening on June 1st, the government divided the state into 17 Regional Health Divisions (DRS). Greater São Paulo was further subdivided into microregions. The relaxation of quarantine is implemented differently in each of these regions.

The five criteria that base the regional health divisions grading are: intensive care unit (ICU) bed occupancy; total beds per 100,000 inhabitants; variation of new hospitalizations compared to the preceding week; variation of new confirmed cases compared to the preceding week; variation of new confirmed deaths compared to the preceding week.

These criteria define in which of the five reopening permit phases the region is in:

Phase 1 – Red: Maximum alert
Phase 2 – Orange: Control
Phase 3 – Yellow: Flexibility
Stage 4 – Green: Partial opening
Phase 5 – Blue: Controlled normal.

On Friday, the city of São Paulo and 14 municipalities of Greater São Paulo remained in the yellow phase. The region of Campinas was lowered to the red phase due to a worsening in health indicators.

The government also announced the prospect of extending the operation of street commerce to 6 hours daily, but for four days a week in regions rated in the orange phase. The former rules allowed operation for only four hours daily.

Issue in daily Covid-19 data

Due to technical issues in the notification system, the Health Secretariat failed to disclose the update of the total number of confirmed cases during this Friday’s press conference. Only the number of new deaths recorded between Thursday and Friday was disclosed. There were 343 new confirmed deaths in 24 hours.

The coordinator of the Health Committee, Paulo Menezes, said that the data should be released later on Friday. “As soon as we complete this technical process, we will release, later today, I hope, the numbers of confirmed cases of the day,” said Menezes.

Source: G1