Covid’s Covid Secretary recommends suspension of Carnival in 2022

The extraordinary secretary of Confronting Covid-19 of the Ministry of Health, Rosana Leite de Melo, does not recommend the holding of Carnival in 2022. She argues that parties with large crowds can increase the transmission of the disease.

According to Leite, despite the country already having high vaccination coverage, in these events it is difficult to maintain non-pharmacological protocols that are important to avoid contamination. Among them the use of mask, distance measure and hand hygiene.

The statement was given at a public hearing in the Chamber of Deputies this Wednesday (8).

“Carnival is a party that we gather, that we are together. It’s impossible for you not to be crowded in these parties. And we know that even if the individual is with their complete vaccination schedule, even with a booster dose, they can become contaminated “, evaluated.

“It’s extremely risky for everything we’ve been through, not only we Brazilians, but the world has gone through this, to hold this type of meeting, of celebrations at the present time. Of course, we are in December, and in February or In March, things could change. But today, our position is that this should be considered with extreme caution and we do not recommend it at the moment,” he concluded.

Entities such as Anvisa (National Health Surveillance Agency), Fornatur (National Forum of State Secretaries and Directors of Tourism), CNM (National Confederation of Municipalities) and Conass (National Council of Health Secretaries) assessed that it is necessary to be cautious with this kind of event.

“We know that it is a party for gathering, for approximation. Honestly, we do not see how these parties can have strict non-pharmacological measures,” said Fernando Avendanho, technical advisor at Conass.

Doreni Caramori, president of Abrape (Brazilian Association of Event Promoters), disagreed that there could be no Carnival. For him, prohibiting the celebration would demonstrate selective precaution on the part of the public authorities, since large-scale parties are already taking place.

“The overwhelming majority of carnivals are of inferior size and operational conditions than many events that have already taken place and have not been proven to have influenced the increase in numbers. it may not allow events to be held for 15 million people, 18 million people, but it does allow for a large set of events that do not impact the epidemiological curves”, he pointed out.

Like leaf has shown, the fear of a new wave of contagion from Covid-19, even more with the discovery of the omicron variant, has made several cities cancel the revelry. In many of the cities, however, vetoes are restricted to the public sphere. Municipalities in the interior and coast of São Paulo announced in recent days the mass cancellation of carnival activities in 2022.

The discussion went further and there were entities that also defended the vaccination passport for entry to events and also for the entry of tourists in Brazil.

Despite Anvisa’s recommendation, the federal government has not adopted the requirement of a passport for the vaccine for tourists who want to enter Brazil. The measure chosen was a five-day quarantine of unvaccinated travelers.

Bruno Wendling, president of Fornatur, said that not implementing stricter rules could result in the loss of the country’s image as a serious and responsible tourist destination.

Anvisa has warned that the absence of a vaccine passport to enter Brazil could turn the country into a vacation destination for people who refuse to take the vaccine.

“This protocol of not charging full vaccinations for international tourists, but just a five-day quarantine of which we don’t really know what the control will be, is not the measure we need,” assessed Wendling.

Avendanho recalled that Conass and Conasems (National Council of Municipal Health Secretariats) made a joint statement defending the vaccination passport.

“It is extremely important, relevant. We have to respect each other. Those who decide not to take the vaccine have to respect and be respected in relation to their individual issue, but we are dealing with collective health. When we protect ourselves, we are protecting ours next, the people around us,” he concluded.