The cruise season in Rio de Janeiro starts this month, with the movement of approximately 170 thousand people in the city. The first ship arrives next Saturday (4), at Pier Mauá. In all, there will be 57 arrivals and 25 cruise departures in the capital by the end of the season, in May 2022.
Rio is the state with the largest number of destinations for cruise travelers. In addition to the capital, Búzios, Angra dos Reis, Ilha Grande and Cabo Frio also receive passengers.
The return of navigations to the city takes place at the same time that the Ômicron variant, detected for the first time in South Africa, spreads to other countries, including Brazil.
TO CNN, the president of the Brazilian Association of Maritime Cruises, Marco Ferraz, said that it is impossible to have complete assurance that the new variant will not infect any traveler, but highlighted that the protocols of the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) and followed on board are very rigid and the possibility of infection is minimal in ships.
“We have strict protocols, such as daily testing of 10% of the crew and passengers, in addition to ensuring that everyone on board has the complete vaccination schedule against the virus. All spaces on the ships were resized to meet new needs, such as the distance of 1.5 meters. We went through Beta, Delta and now Ômicron and all protocols minimize the possibility of any infection. Of course, it is impossible to have a 100% guarantee, but the chance is minimal”, he stated.
Ferraz also stressed that communication with Anvisa is constant and that, if necessary, more restrictions will be made.
“No ship can enter or leave a port without the approval of Anvisa. Contact with them is daily. We are following the epidemiological scenario and, of course, if new restrictions are determined, we will comply”, said the president.
CNN also spoke with the state health secretary, Alexandre Chieppe about the possible implementation of restrictive measures in Rio de Janeiro due to the cruise season combined with the detection of Ômicron in the country. According to Chieppe, at the moment, there is no fear with the arrival of travelers from ships, but if the scenario changes, restrictions will be evaluated.
“We know that Brazil, in a way, has high vaccination coverage and that Rio is also making progress in vaccination. At the moment, with the state indicators that we have, there is no fear in relation to cruises. If there is a change in the epidemiological scenario with the new variant, then we will evaluate it’, said the secretary.
The municipal health department points out that travelers will only be able to disembark in Rio if they have followed the boarding protocol correctly, with negative testing, and have the vaccine passport in hand. The traveler who proves the complete vaccination schedule will only be able to access the city’s sights.
The Brazilian season has already started, on November 5th, at the Port of Santos, in São Paulo. In all, 107 itineraries and 392 stopovers will be carried out in national destinations, such as Búzios, Fortaleza, Salvador and Ilhabela.
According to the president of the Associação de Cruzeiros, Marcos Ferraz, so far, more than 25 thousand travelers have sailed this season, in a calm way, without problems.
Among the various determinations made by Anvisa for cruises to be carried out, there are the mandatory vaccination passports and the maximum occupancy of 75% of the ship.
The new season had been expected by the tourism sector, as last year cruises were canceled as a result of the pandemic. Before Covid-19, the Port of Rio expected to receive 400 thousand tourists between November 2020 and April 2021.
The last time there were cruises in the city, in the 2019/2020 season, more than 357 people disembarked in the capital of Rio de Janeiro, closing with 100 berths and 32 ships, 24 of which were international.
At the time, all over Brazil, navigations impacted more than R$ 2 billion on the economy and generated 32 thousand direct and indirect jobs. This season, the Association forecasts that the impact will be of R$1.7 billion, and 24,000 people will be employed.
Check out the main sanitary protocols established by Anvisa on cruises
- Proof of full Covid-19 vaccination for boarding all PNI-eligible passengers.
- Obligation to present a negative RT-PCR test done within 72 hours or an antigen test performed within 24 hours before boarding.
- Daily testing of 10% of passengers on board and 10% of crew. Positive tests cannot be discarded by a second test (retest).
- Passenger screening through information on a Form containing information about the traveler’s health conditions.
- Maximum capacity of the vessel limited to 75% of the passenger capacity.
- Onboard spacing of 1.5 meters between groups of travelers (example: family group or group of people traveling together).
- Weekly testing of the entire crew on board.
- Separation of cabins to isolate suspected cases on board.
- Prior approval of the protocols of each vessel by Anvisa.
- Daily notification of health status on board by the vessel.
*Under supervision of Helena Vieira
Reference: CNN Brasil
