Mayor Eduardo Paes announced the decision after a meeting with representatives of carnival groups in a broadcast on social media on Tuesday (local time). The reason given was that admission controls and compliance with other corona measures at the street carnival, for which hundreds of groups had registered in Rio, were practically impossible. According to Brazilian television, the mayor’s decision was well received by the groups known as “Blocos”, despite their mourning over the failure of the street festival.
According to the news portal “G1”, the Carnival in Rio, last time it was held in 2020, attracted more than three million people to the streets within four days. The plans for the legendary parades in the Sambodrome in February and March will be upheld for the time being. Controls to protect against infection are easier to implement there, said Paes.
The Association of Samba Schools of Rio de Janeiro (LIESA) confirmed in a statement on Wednesday that the parades in the Sambodrome would remain unchanged. With regard to the Covid-19 measures, LIESA makes it clear that it would follow all guidelines of the responsible bodies and the applicable regulations.
In Brazil, according to official information, more than 22 million of the country’s 210 million residents have been infected with the corona virus. Around 618,000 patients have died in connection with Covid-19 – there are only more deaths in the USA. As the vaccination campaign progressed, the number of new deaths fell sharply – optimism, especially in Rio, grew.
Almost 70 percent of the Brazilian population are now fully vaccinated. Since the first infections with the new Omikron variant were detected in Brazil at the beginning of December, the number of positive tests – influenced by Christmas and New Year’s Eve – has recently increased again.