The street blocks in the city of Rio de Janeiro may not parade during the 2022 Carnival. With the advance of the Ômicron variant and the fear of a new wave of the disease, the City of Rio de Janeiro will meet this Tuesday (4) with representatives of the Independent Association of City Blocs (Sebastiana) to discuss the issue.
In addition to Eduardo Paes, the meeting will also feature the presence of the Municipal Health Secretary, Daniel Soranz. The city’s mayor highlighted that, according to current sanitary rules, both the samba school parades, in Marquês de Sapucaí, as well as several dances can be held due to the collection of the vaccination passport and/or RT-PCR tests.
The street blocks’ parades, on the other hand, according to Paes, require a more detailed analysis, as, in this case, there is no possibility of controlling the revelers.
So far, Rio’s City Hall, through Riotur, has received around 500 requests for blocks to be shown in the Rio de Janeiro capital during Carnival in 2022. If the street party is allowed, the maximum number of parades in the city will also be discussed. .
Fearing the Covid-19 pandemic, at least two important street blocks in the city of Rio have already canceled parades for 2022. The newest announcement came from Banda de Ipanema, one of the largest and most traditional street blocks in the capital, which he stated through a note that ‘there are still risks for the population’.
The Bloco da Preta, by the singer Preta Gil, has also announced that it will not be parading through the streets of downtown Rio de Janeiro in 2022. The block is considered one of the largest that parade in the capital during Carnival.
Regarding the samba schools parade, at Marquês da Sapucaí, a meeting scheduled for January 15 will define the direction of the carnival at the Rio sambódromo. .
Governor Claudio Castro said in December that he and Mayor Eduardo Paes would discuss in January how the party will be. At the time, with no advances in the Ômicron variant, Castro even said the influenza epidemic could impact the government’s decision.
And there are already 201 cases of suspected Ômicron variants in Rio de Janeiro so far. The samples are being analyzed and the result is expected to come out in the next few days. Due to the holiday season, researchers at Fiocruz warned of a “boom” in Covid-19 cases in January.
Eduardo Paes also pointed out in December that, during the end-of-the-year festivities, it was too early to make any decision about Carnival. At the time, he highlighted that, according to current health rules, both the samba school parades in Marquês de Sapucaí and the dances could be held due to the collection of the vaccination passport and/or RT-tests PCR.
Less than two months before Carnival, 60% of the stands for the special group’s parades at Marquês de Sapucaí have already been sold. The parades take place on the 27th and 28th of February. The information was confirmed this Saturday (1st) by the Independent League of Samba Schools of Rio de Janeiro (Liesa).
The cabins and frisas sold out on the day they went on sale, in September and October 2021.
Reference: CNN Brasil
