Coronavirus in Brazil: the crowded beaches of Rio de Janeiro trigger alarms

the The beaches of Rio de Janeiro were invaded by thousands of cariocas and tourists this Sunday, on the eve of the start of the austral summer, which triggered the alerts of specialists before the possibility that such agglomerations worsen the pandemic of covid-19 in this Brazilian city.

The sunny Sunday and the high temperatures a few hours before the start of the southern summer on Monday brought thousands of people to the beaches, the vast majority without a mask or any other prevention, and caused crowds in the famous sands of Copacabana, Ipanema and Leblón.

Rio de Janeiro, with 24,473 deaths and 406,820 infections, It is the second city most affected by the coronavirus pandemic in Brazil, which is one of the global epicenters of the pandemic, the second country with the highest number of deaths from covid in the world after United States, and the third with the most cases, after the United States and India.

After a week with sporadic rains, the sunny and festive day, and Temperatures, which reached 38 degrees Celsius, contributed to the crowds on the beaches of bathers that they did not respect the rules of distancing and that, without protection, they practiced group sports in the arenas.

The promenade that lines the beaches has also recorded crowds of people going out for walks or biking despite the social distancing measures that the mayor of Rio de Janeiro reintroduced a week ago to deal with the epidemic of pandemic.

Among other measures, the municipality has banned the use of parking lots near the beaches discourage car travel and restrict access to recreational areas despite the fact that some specialists recommend banning people from going to arenas for recreational activities.

The fear of epidemiologists is that agglomerations who saw each other on the last Sunday of spring are repeated throughout the summer and make the beaches a breeding ground for the spread of the pandemic.

“The beaches are open places that invite to outdoor activities, but people confuse outdoor recreation with total neglect of preventive measures. This explains the crowds that we see in the arenas of people without masks, sharing objects and talking at close range, ”he warned. Christina barros, health researcher at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.

“This way beaches become an environment conducive to the spread of the virus. People are tired of taking care of themselves and believe that on the beach, in the open air, they can live together without any type of prevention ”, added the specialist.

For Barros, in the midst of what appears to be a second wave of a pandemic, the onset of summer poses a risk that can turn into tragedy if authorities do not impose new distancing rules or control existing ones. .

“Without forceful action which restricts the crowds on the beaches, unfortunately we will have a very high number of infections, mainly because at this summer period, Christmas holidays and holidays coincide for a large part of the population. The numbers are increasing and, without any action, we will end up paying the bill in lives, ”he concluded.

Although the state of Rio de Janeiro fair recorded 19 deaths and 3,160 infections this Sunday, figures well below the average attributed to the reduction in the number of officials processing the data, deaths and cases have been increasing in the region for the past week.

According to statistics, the average number of daily deaths in the last 14 days in Rio de Janeiro stood at 107 as of Sunday, growing 34% from two weeks ago, while the average number of infections rose to 2,527 per day.

The two averages accumulate six consecutive days of growth.

The worsening pandemic in recent days has made the rate of use of intensive care units in public hospitals remains alarmingly above 90% and that the number of people waiting to be transferred to a bed in a specialized unit would reach 273.

Source: EFE