The advancement of the Ômicron variant changed the schedule of major events earlier this year in the country. An example is the Universo Spanta music festival, in Marina da Glória, south of Rio, which had its performances postponed from today (7) until Sunday (9), and the dates have not yet been rescheduled. Musicians from Lulu Santos’ band, who would perform yesterday show with the singer-songwriter, and today with the singer Duda Beat, were diagnosed with covid-19.
In a message published on Instagram, the musicians communicated that the other activities on the calendar are maintained and that the pandemic scenario over the next few days will continue to be monitored by the health bodies.
The schedule includes performances every weekend in January and ends on the 30th. Festival organizers said they hope to be able to keep to the schedule. “We hope to have a beautiful festival and to meet again from the 14th”, said the artists, informing that they intend to resume the event next Friday.
Even events that only start in March require special care and planning. The producer of Tim Music Verão, Rafaello Ramundo, scheduled for the 12th and 13th and 19th and 20th of March, at Ipanema Beach, said that the team’s work is always anticipated and that the current scenario is being monitored. He added that the possibility of later dates is being worked on, in case it is necessary to postpone the presentations. “For prudence, we are already putting together a contingency plan to take the event a little further.” According to the producer, the event includes an extensive list of artists and teams and there is a risk of people being contaminated when the event takes place.
Ramundo said that the impact of not holding a big event that has already been prepared is very strong, but he stressed that the responsibility comes in the same measure and cannot be compromised due to the recklessness of the production. “If it gets to a point where it’s really impossible to do it, then, even with all the damage it can cause, because events like Tim Music Summer generate a lot of jobs – almost 3,000 between direct and indirect – if the pandemic is from the size that is being drawn, we put a brake on it”, said the producer to Brazil Agency.
Another public event produced by Ramundo is the Invasão Cultural Festival, with musical performances that precede Flamengo’s basketball games, in Maracanãzinho, north of Rio. requirement of sanitary protocols and the transmission of shows through the Internet. “We are launching a series of artists in the Invasão Cultural project, which speaks to a minimal audience in Maracanãzinho, but this is replicated on the internet for people. It is the life we are living today.”
Planning
Large events need to be organized with extensive advance planning. The preparation of Universo Spanta, for example, involved hundreds of people over two years to define the details and the list of more than 100 attractions. In that period, Covid-19 came, and the scenario changed.
Before the appearance of Ômicron, everything seemed to be heading towards normality. Families gathered at Christmas and, even with restrictions, compared to other years, there were fireworks in various parts of Rio and celebrations in other cities in the country on New Year’s Eve.
Cultural and tourism events in Brazil are among the segments most affected by the pandemic. Data from the Brazilian Association of Event Promoters (Abrape) indicate that losses in the sector at the height of the pandemic reached 93%. The environment that was more favorable in the last months of 2021, reinforced by the advance of vaccination and the consequent reduction of cases and deaths from the disease, encouraged promoters and major events began to be programmed.
Now, with the multiplication of the Ômicron variant, the realization of these events has become a matter of concern. Salvador, Recife and Olinda have already canceled the carnival schedule. In Rio, the city government canceled the parades of street blocks and expects a response from the associations to the proposal of presentations in places where public control can be done, such as Parque Madureira, in the north zone, and the Olympic Park, in the west zone.
For samba schools, at least so far, the parades are held at the Sambódromo da Sapucaí with requirements for proof of vaccination up to date and testing for covid-19 before the show.
Specialists
For September, a new edition of Rock in Rio is planned in the west of Rio – Reuters/Ian Cheibub/Rights Reserved
For specialists, however, the advance of Ômicron in the country recommends caution, and the best thing would be the total cancellation of big shows and festivities such as Carnival. While acknowledging that such events were programmed in another scenario of the pandemic, the vice president of the Brazilian Society of Immunizations (SBIm), Isabella Ballalai, stated that, given what has already happened in countries in the Northern Hemisphere, where the variant has spread in large proportions, it is time to step back. “It is necessary for the population to understand that it has changed. We can’t relax at all anymore,” Isabella told Brazil Agency.
The doctor also highlighted the impact on the most diverse activities, when the number of cases increases. “Fortunately, we will not have a number of deaths like we had in the last waves, but we will have so many cases that the economy will be damaged because of absenteeism,” said Isabella, who
cited as an example the numerous flights canceled due to contamination of crew teams.
“We don’t want to stop the economy, we don’t want to close schools at all. Schools cannot be closed, but we need the population’s help. It is necessary to understand this message, because, otherwise, there is no way to control it. It has no authority that it can control,” he said.
The first secretary of the Brazilian Society of Immunizations (SBIm), Renato Kfouri, agrees that the moment is one of restrictions. “The way we make everyone flexible, and with the new wave coming, the biggest of all, we have to go back, react with the public at carnival, in football stadiums, on cruises. Now is the time for restrictions. Many people, mistakenly, used the number of vaccinated as criteria for flexibility. The relaxation must be given by the transmission rates.”, he explained.
When there are many people circulating, it is necessary to restrict more, with few circulating, more is released, said the infectologist. “That’s the bill. The time now is to go back. Limit the frequency”, recommended Kfouri, stressing that the limitation would be until the transmission rates of Ômicron drop.
The doctor Sylvia Lemos, who is a consultant for the Brazilian Society of Infectious Diseases (SBI) in Pernambuco, fears that the situation will worsen during Carnival, when the movement of people in cities increases and tourists from other countries arrive. In addition, there is the case of people already vaccinated who participated in private parties at the end of the year and now have the disease. Even so, said the doctor, it is necessary to evaluate the evolution, because as has been shown from the beginning, the behavior of covid-19 is very changing. “It’s something unpredictable and we have to wait for the times and how the trends of the curves behave”, he said.
The municipal secretary of Health of Rio de Janeiro, Daniel Soranz, said that, for the time being, there is no provision to change the restrictive measures and that the main recommendation for events is the collection of the health passport. Soranz highlighted that people need to be aware that, in order to be together in the same place, it is necessary for everyone to be properly vaccinated. The secretary acknowledged that this has not been happening in some events, which ended with many people infected, such as cruises, which had to be suspended.
For Soranz, the scenario may change, if there is an increase in hospitalizations, because of the lack of respect for health rules. “If they are not complied with, there is an increase in the number of hospitalizations and serious cases, we will have to change the restrictive measures in the city. What is guiding the restrictive measures today is the number of hospitalized and serious cases, which did not change, there was no change at that moment, but if there is a large circulation of unvaccinated people, the scenario can change quickly.”
Soranz stressed that it is important for cultural events to continue complying with the health measures put in place: in places with a lot of people, requiring the use of a mask and the presentation of a health passport.
Upcoming
Realization of Formula 1 in Brazil had no epidemiological impact, says Abrape – Florent Gooden/DPPI/LiveMedia/NurPhoto
For this year, there are other major events planned, such as the Lollapalooza festival, scheduled for March 25, 26 and 27, in São Paulo, and Rock in Rio, from September 2 to 11, in Rio.
Abrape’s president, Doreni Caramori Júnior, said that if the pandemic situation worsens, the restrictions should not be just for the sector. According to Caramori Júnior, mass events that have already been carried out by the sector and have not had negative impacts on the epidemiological situation, such as Formula 1. For him, it is necessary to evaluate the evolution of the situation, including the number of hospitalizations, serious cases and of deaths. If drastic measures are taken, they cannot be directed only to events, they must apply to all sectors that encourage social interaction. “It has full beaches, full parks, full airports, shopping centers supermarkets, that is to say, there is no way to direct it only to this sector. It would be an extremely prejudiced approach,” Caramori told Brazil Agency.
Attention to major events must be the same as that given to other activities, because the country is still in a pandemic environment. Caramoni pointed out that the segment contributes positively when it requires proof of vaccination, as people have one more reason to seek immunization.
More expensive
The doctor Isabella Ballalai also warned about the use of fabric and surgical masks, which according to her, are not enough to face the Ômicron variant.
According to Isabella, the best masks are the N95 or PFF2 type. Those who cannot afford to buy them should combine the use of fabric with surgical ones.
In addition to the correct use of masks, the doctor recommended vaccination. “Anyone who hasn’t taken the first dose, for God’s sake, wake up. The pandemic is not over.”
