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Carnival is postponed or canceled in 25 capitals; see situation in the country

According to a survey of CNN Agency, 24 capitals and the Federal District have already officially announced that this year’s Carnival has been canceled or suspended. The move comes amid the increase in the number of Covid-19 cases in Brazil, a consequence of the advancement of the Ômicron variant.

The state capitals that have already confirmed the cancellation or suspension of Carnival are: Vitória (ES), São Paulo (SP), Rio de Janeiro (RJ), Belo Horizonte (MG), Florianópolis (SC), Curitiba (PR), Distrito Federal , Goiânia (GO), Cuiabá (MT), Campo Grande (MS), Maceió (AL), Salvador (BA), São Luís (MA), João Pessoa (PB), Recife (PE), Teresina (PI), Natal (RN), Aracaju (SE), Manaus (AM), Macapá (AP), Belém (PA), Porto Velho (RO), Boa Vista (RR) and Palmas (TO).

Only two state capitals have not yet defined the situation regarding Carnival festivities or informed that the matter will be dealt with later: Porto Alegre (RS) and Rio Branco (AC). Among the municipalities that have already confirmed the cancellation or suspension, Vitória (ES) and Belo Horizonte (MG) have only given up carrying out the street Carnival.

The City of Curitiba announced that the 2022 Carnival will be celebrated in virtual format. The measure responded to a request from the League of Samba Schools and Carnival Blocks of Curitiba, and the videos produced will be broadcast on holiday days on the city’s social media.

One of the most sought after and well-known cities for the party, Salvador had all Carnival celebrations cancelled. The governor of Bahia, Rui Costa (PT), stated that “only a completely irresponsible person would authorize Carnival in these conditions in which we continue to have deaths from the coronavirus and we start to have deaths from the other flu virus, the H3N2”.

In addition to the cancellations and suspensions, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo decided to postpone the holiday festivities. In a joint meeting held this Friday (21), the two prefectures agreed to keep the street carnival suspended. However, the samba school parades were rescheduled for the Tiradentes holiday, on April 21.

The parades in the sambadromes were scheduled in São Paulo for the 25th and 26th of February. In Rio de Janeiro, they would be held on the 27th and 28th of the same month. The increase in cases and hospitalizations for Covid-19 in both capitals was the main reason for the date change.

Faced with the increase in the number of cases and, consequently, hospitalizations for Covid-19, experts warn that this is really not the right time for large festivities and agglomerations. The Ômicron variant, the dominant strain of the coronavirus, is more transmissible than the others, and the opportunities for contamination increase.

In an interview with CNN Radio this Thursday (20), infectious disease specialist Raquel Muarrek commented on possible pressure from the health system. “The sampling of people is larger, since there is a greater total number of cases due to high transmissibility”, he evaluated.

Reference: CNN Brasil

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