08/17/2020 - 16:16
- Clarín.com
- World
The Mayor's Office of Rio de Janeiro resigned to delimit the spaces on the beaches to avoid crowds in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, after the project, which provided reservations by digital application, received criticism.
"Due to the reaction of the population in the survey we did, who thought that this was not going to work , we decided to maintain the prohibition" that people remain in the arena, said Mayor Marcelo Crivella, who announced last week his intention to implement the project.
Sunbathing and other non-sports activities on the sand are still prohibited on the beaches of the 'Cidade Maravilhosa', but many bathers ignore the rules and crowd without a mask in the famous Copacabana or Ipanema, due to little surveillance.
The project envisaged delimiting individual or group spaces , allocated in order of arrival or by reservation by mobile phone application. After learning about the initiative, Internet users flooded the networks with 'memes' about the difficulties that the authorities would find to control the movement of people on beaches that register an intense movement, even on tropical winter weekends.
Christ the Redeemer, in Rio de Janeiro, with chinstrap. Photo DPA
"You can not occupy the spaces for leisure . It is allowed to bathe, if you want to buy a 'snack', but then return home. There can be no crowding," added Crivella, who seeks to be reelected in the municipal elections in November.
The authorities allowed in recent weeks the reopening of bars, restaurants, gyms and from this weekend the main tourist spots, such as the iconic Christ the Redeemer.
The city of Rio registered an average of 31 deaths and 906 new cases of coronavirus per day in the last week , compared to an average of 36 deaths and 371 new cases registered the previous week.
The Brazilian Minister of the Environment, Ricardo Salles, delivers a speech during the reopening of Cristo del Corcovado in Rio. Photo EFE
The state of Rio, with 17 million inhabitants, is the second (after São Paulo) in the number of deaths caused by the pandemic -more than 14,500 out of almost 108,000 in Brazil- and one of the most affected by infections (more than 194,000, out of 3.3 million).
With no clear perspective on when a vaccine will be available, the Mayor's Office announced that it is designing a new format for the traditional New Year's Eve party , which typically draws millions of people to Copacabana Beach to watch the fireworks show.
Rio's famous carnival, with its splendid samba schools and massive street blocos, is also at risk of being canceled.
Source: AFP
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