SAO PAULO (AP) – The night before New Year’s Eve in Rio de Janeiro, thousands of revelers dressed in their bathing suits on the iconic Ipanema Beach to have a drink by the sea. It was one of the many open-air parties that have taken place along the vast coastline in Brazil since the summer heat began, and when the COVID-19 death rate climbed higher.
“It was so packed you could not set foot on the beach,” said a maintenance worker at a luxury apartment building across the street. ‘And it was not just at night; the beach was also full during the day. And no one wears a mask! he added, insisting that the owner of the building would not punish him for talking to a reporter.
The explosion of celebrations came just before a milestone of pandemic: Brazil passed 200,000 deaths on Thursday, rising by 1,524 in the past 24 hours to a total of 200,498 for the pandemic. It is the second highest toll in the world, behind the United States, according to the Johns Hopkins University database.
Many Brazilians have been struggling with quarantine for months and going to pubs or small gatherings with friends, but since the onset of the pandemic, there have been few outbreaks. Festivities began after the summer in the Southern Hemisphere began on December 21st.
While many countries introduced new restrictions in mid-December to curb the spread of the virus, the Brazilian government, President Jair Bolsonaro, has given its blessing to holiday fun in the sun. Tourism Minister Gilson Machado told radio station Jovem Pan that gatherings of up to 300 people were perfectly acceptable. The decision to impose restrictions is the right of local governments; some who have done so have seen their rules ignored.
A leading YouTuber has organized a party near a river bank for hundreds of people in Alagoas, in the northeastern region of the country. Days later, local media reported that 47 people had contracted COVID-19 among unmasked guests and staff members. At least two were admitted to intensive care units.
A five-day New Year’s Day attracted 150 people near the property of soccer star Neymar outside Rio, though he denied any connection to the VIP event.
Outside of Sao Paulo, Bolsonaro kicked off 2021 by jumping off a boat and swimming to a crowd of unmasked, cheering fans.
And police in the city of Bertioga on the coast of Sao Paulo used tear gas to disperse a celebration in the early hours of New Year’s Day.
“Just before the parties, the situation got worse. But this week or next it will get even worse, ‘Domingos Alves, a deputy professor of social medicine at the University of Sao Paulo, told The Associated Press this week.
Alves, who leads a team of researchers tracking COVID-19 data, warned that the daily confirmed cases of several states already exceed the numbers seen during the Brazilian peak in July.
Intensive care units in many cities are once again being raided with COVID-19 patients. The mayor of the capital of Amazonas, Manaus – who according to a local study presumably achieved herd immunity after his brutal first wave – declared a 180-day state of emergency on Tuesday and suspended all permits for events. State authorities banned all unimportant activities for 15 days in most of the city
The city of 2.2 million has recorded 3,500 deaths since the start of the pandemic, and the number of COVID-19 burials has increased. Outside at least one cemetery are cars filled with people waiting to bury their loved ones.
Vanda Ortega, a volunteer nurse from Manaus’ Community of Indigenous Nations, told the AP the city took a practical approach to the virus, first during local elections in November with large rallies and long queues of voters.
“Then we had the holiday season with a lot of secret parties,” said Ortega, who belongs to Witoto ethnicity. ‘We live in an area where rich people have huts. They hold parties every week. ”
Many mayors on the shores of Sao Paulo have ignored the holiday restrictions imposed by their governor. In at least 12 cities, mayors have kept shops, hotels and beaches open to tourists.
Images of traffic jams and crowded beaches, with crowds largely unmasked, were so frightening that European Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni expressed his disbelief on Twitter, saying, “I saw disgraceful images from Brazil.”
And Bolsonaro – who has consistently underestimated the risks of the virus despite capturing a case – has indicated in his New Year’s swim that he will continue to ignore the protective measures observed in most countries.
“I dived in with a mask so as not to catch COVID of the fish,” he joked outside the presidential palace a few days later.
Even some Brazilians who consider themselves cautious let their guards down. Soccer lover Ricardo Santos, 46, says he covers his face every time he goes out, carries hand sanitizer in his suitcase and takes social distance. But on Wednesday, he and a dozen other Palmeiras fans hit a bar in downtown Sao Paulo to see their team play.
‘I only spent two friends in the same building during the New Year. I take precaution. “But sometimes you have to take a little risk to maintain your mental health as well,” Santos said.
Joao Batista Baria, 57, on Ipanema Beach in Rio, said he blamed the authorities for not protecting the poorest residents.
“Everyone is talking about these beach parties, but there is also pressure on the bus, in the metro,” Baria said as he cleaned the folding chairs that tourists and residents rent to enjoy the summer sun. “People come to the beach because they choose. I have to take the bus to get to work. ”