Brazil: Ten state capitals cancel street Carnaval for Omicron and influenza

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – At least 10 Brazilian capitals have canceled the street Carnaval in 2022. The increase of cases of the Ômicron variant of Covid-19 and Influenza A H3N2 in Brazil led mayors to hit the hammer on the decision not to hold the festivities this year.

At least 11 capitals have not yet decided on the event. So far, only Recife has provisionally decided to suspend Carnaval but is not ruling out a reevaluation. Another four of the 27 Brazilian state capitals have not responded.

Traditional festivals, such as the street parties in Rio de Janeiro (RJ) and Salvador (BA), will not take place this year. If there were still doubts about the realization of the events, the outbreaks of Covid and influenza after New Year’s Eve parties put an end to the perspectives.

So far, besides the capitals of Rio de Janeiro and Bahia, Florianópolis (SC), Fortaleza (CE), Curitiba (PR), Cuiabá (MT), Campo Grande (MS), Belém (PA), São Luís (MA) and Distrito Federal have ruled out holding or giving structure to the revelry in the streets.

On Wednesday (5/1), the City Hall of Olinda (PE) canceled the city’s traditional Carnaval because of the increase in cases of Covid-19 and Influenza.

UNSPECIFIED

São Paulo (SP), Maceió (AL), Manaus (AM), Goiânia (GO), Porto Velho (RO), João Pessoa (PB), Natal (RN), Porto Alegre (RS), Porto Velho (RO), Aracaju (SE), and Palmas (TO) are still undecided about the festival.

Belo Horizonte (MG) informed the report that it will not prohibit revelry in the streets of the capital but will not finance it.

“The parades of samba schools, caricature blocks, and street blocks are considered spontaneous cultural manifestations of Belo Horizonte. No prior authorization is required from the city administration to hold them. However, the Belo Horizonte City Hall states that it will not sponsor the Carnival of Belo Horizonte 2022 and will not perform any kind of registration of blocks or investment in infrastructure,” the city said in a statement.

The city of Ouro Preto, about 100 kilometers from the capital and with a traditional university carnaval, decided to cancel the party.

Metrópoles also tried to contact the city halls of Boa Vista (RR), Teresina (PI), Macapá (AP), and Vitória (ES) but did not return as of the publication of this report.

Rio de Janeiro, RJ     Cancelled

Florianópolis, SC      Cancelled

Fortaleza, CE           Cancelled

Recife, PE                Suspended

Teresina, PI             Did not answer

Salvador, BA            Cancelled

Curitiba, PR             Cancelled

Cuiabá, MT              Cancelled

Belém, PA               Cancelled

Belo Horizonte, MG   Released but does not finance

Maceió, AL               Unspecified

São Paulo, SP           Unspecified

Rio Branco, AC         Unspecified

Macapá, AP              Did not answer

Manaus, AM             Unspecified

Vitória, ES               Did not answer

Goiânia, GO             Unspecified

Palmas, TO              Unspecified

Aracaju, SE             Unspecified

Porto Velho, RO       Unspecified

São Luís, MA           Cancelled

Porto Alegre, RS      Unspecified

João Pessoa, PB       Unspecified

Boa Vista, RR          Did not answer

Natal, RN                Unspecified

Distrito Federal, DF  Cancelled

Campo Grande, MS  Cancelled