At least 27 cities in the interior of São Paulo will not have a street Carnival in 2022. The fear is that the event, synonymous with large, dense crowds, will increase Covid cases. Among the municipalities that have canceled the event are Mogi das Cruzes, Ubatuba and Taubaté.
The 2022 street carnival in São Paulo depends on the approval of the Health agencies that assess the epidemiological scenario of the pandemic.
At a meeting in Guariba, 12 city halls decided not to hold Carnival, including Jaboticabal and Taquaritinga.
"It was unanimously decided that cities will not hold Carnival out of respect for Covid victims and also out of fear of a new wave of the coronavirus," said the mayor of Guariba, Celso Romano (PSDB).
In Franca, Mayor Alexandre Ferreira (MDB) claimed that the transit of people from other municipalities to the city is a concern.
"We went through the worst phase of the pandemic this year. We all suffered a lot, we lost many people. After so much suffering, so much anguish, pain and effort, we can no longer take risks."
Translated by Kiratiana Freelon