Rio de Janeiro reopens its beaches as the coronavirus pandemic gives a timid sign of slowing down

Rio de Janeiro reopened its beaches and parks on Monday, at a time when the pandemic of coronavirus gives timid signs of slowing down in Brazil after registering in April the deadliest month since the start of the health crisis.

The Mayor’s Office of the “Wonderful City” authorized from this Monday and only during the week the presence of bathers in the sand and waters of the beaches, which had been closed since the end of March.

However, hundreds of people packed the city’s iconic postcards last Saturday and Sunday, such as Ipanema and Copacabana, despite the restrictions imposed by the authorities to contain the virus.

Besides the beaches, Rio de Janeiro has given the green light as of this Monday to the opening of parks and waterfalls, in addition to that of bars, restaurants and non-essential shops decreed at the beginning of the month.

The new phase of de-escalation in Rio de Janeiro It occurs after a stabilization of the pandemic in the state of Rio de Janeiro and a slight reduction in the epidemiological curve throughout the country, one of the most affected in the world by the pandemic.

After several tragic consecutive records throughout April, the deadliest month of the health emergency, the number of coronavirus cases fell for the third consecutive week, while the number of deaths did so for the second week.

The apparent truce comes after the restriction measures imposed between March and April in different states of the country, including Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, to contain the unstoppable advance of the pandemic, which has put the health system in check, with a lack of oxygen and medicines in various hospitals.

But despite the slight decrease, the indicators continue at very high levels, with an average of 58,800 cases and 2,495 deaths per day due to covid-19 in the last seven days, and an incidence rate of 6,824 per 100,000 inhabitants.

The still strong advance of the virus did not prevent images of agglomerations in different parts of the country from being repeated this weekend, including Sao Paulo, the state with the most cases and deaths from covid-19 in Brazil and that it has also begun a relaxation of the measures after stabilizing the curve and reducing its hospital pressure.

BOLSONARO, ON THE DOORS OF A PARLIAMENTARY INVESTIGATION

Amid the gradual reopening in much of the country, the president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, one of the leaders most denial about the seriousness of the virus, again charged this Monday against the restriction measures and stated that it is not possible to admit that governors “impose a dictatorship.”

“It was not the Federal Government that locked them at home, that closed the trade, that destroyed millions of jobs”Declared the leader of the Brazilian extreme right, who once again blamed governors and mayors for the economic crisis that the country is experiencing.

Bolsonaro As of this Tuesday, it will be the subject of a parliamentary investigation promoted by the opposition on the management of the federal government and the states of the coronavirus pandemic, which already leaves more than 390,000 dead and 14.3 million infected throughout the country.

Brazil is the second country in the world with the most deaths from covid-19, behind the United States, and the third in number of cases, behind the United States and India, which is currently experiencing its worst phase of the pandemic with figures record of infections and deaths and a critical situation due to lack of oxygen.

Despite the critical situation in the country, vaccination, the Government’s main bet to curb the crisis, continues to slow down and the Minister of Health, Marcelo Queiroga, admitted the difficulty in providing the second dose of the Chinese Coronavac vaccine due to the shortage of immunizers in the country.