Health entities and associations representing the municipalities of Rio de Janeiro told the CNN, on Tuesday (7), which are against the holding of any New Year’s Eve event in the capital of Rio de Janeiro.
This includes the fireworks display on Copacabana beach, a measure still discussed by the mayor of Rio, Eduardo Paes, and by governor Cláudio Castro. The main reason: agglomeration and spread of Ômicron, a new variant of the coronavirus, which was first identified in South Africa.
“At the moment, caution is a good thing to do. We suffered a lot and now it’s under control. not have the show [em Copacabana] it is important as it is an element that brings crowding. We suffered a lot with Covid-19, we can’t risk everything now”, said the president of the Council of Municipal Health Secretariats of Rio de Janeiro (Cosems-RJ), Rodrigo Oliveira.
TO CNN, the president of Cosems-RJ also explains the possible epidemiological impacts that holding the party in the city of Rio de Janeiro could generate in other municipalities in the state.
He makes it clear that Rio “is not an island”. “What happens here can indeed have repercussions in other municipalities in the state of Rio de Janeiro. The advance of the variant to other municipalities could become a reality, if the number of cases grows here”, he said.
However, Rodrigo Oliveira believes that the city’s Municipal Health Department will take the right decision.
Endorsing Cosems’ speech, the president of the State Association of Municipalities of Rio de Janeiro (Aemerj), Luiz Antônio, also recalls that the pandemic is under control, but that it is not over yet.
According to him, we need to continue vaccinating to prevent the contamination numbers from rising again.
Finally, he admits that the end-of-year festivities can be a temporary financial ‘relief’ for the people of Rio de Janeiro, but remembers that the consequences of the event could harm the state’s economy in the long run.
“[Precisamos] insisting more and more on the vaccine, which has already demonstrated its potency, and that all large crowding should not be carried out, to avoid the spread of the virus and the contamination of the unvaccinated. Let’s remember that all our children haven’t had the chance to be vaccinated yet”, declared the president of Aemerj.
“And it’s also good to remember that the economy has been finding its way and it’s not time, because of a day of celebration, we can disrupt months of work. In the short term, it may even yield temporary jobs, but, in the future, this may make us need to close everything again”, he concluded.
In light of speculation about the turn of the year in Rio de Janeiro, Governor Cláudio Castro reaffirmed this Tuesday (7) that the issue will still be discussed with the scientific committee, which suggests measures to combat Covid-19.
However, he stated that the final decision is his and the mayor of Rio, Eduardo Paes.
Meanwhile, this Monday (6), Paes posted on a social network that the city of Rio is going to study the possibility of holding fireworks on the Copacabana shore.
According to him, Rio’s municipal health secretary, Daniel Soranz, will ‘conduct negotiations about what is possible to be done’.
Reference: CNN Brasil
