RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – For the fifth straight night this Carnaval season, Rio de Janeiro saw illegal parties and people crowding with no masks, despite the city’s efforts to prevent such events.
Many of the parties lasted into the early hours of the morning and continued in broad daylight on Tuesday, February 16th.
This was the case of a restaurant-nightclub at the top of Morro do Vidigal, in the South Zone. At 6:30 AM, hundreds of people crowded on the several dance floors.
These venues have been banned by Rio city hall since the start of the year, and nightclubs may only operate with seated customers. But more and more Rio residents will soon be unable to determine what is worse: the pandemic or the measures against it.
Globocop filmed three floors with virtually no free space, such was the crowded atmosphere in the nightclub.
TV Globo found that the nightclub had already been notified by the city hall for violating the coronavirus pandemic regulations.
In Vidigal, the weekend also experienced crowds. Several bars were full, and in the early hours of Sunday there was a concert with a full house.
Since Monday night, February 15th, Bom Dia Rio visited areas where Rio residents gathered during the holiday, in violation of social distancing rules. Once again, bohemian spots like Olegário Maciel street in Barra, and Dias Ferreira, in Leblon, were crowded.
Olegário Maciel street was jammed at around 1 AM – and many people were drinking in the middle of the street. Close to Dias Ferreira, on Leblon beach, a group was partying on the sand strip at around 6 AM.
According to the Secretariat of Public Order (SEOP), upper-class Leblon is among the neighborhoods with the highest number of fines for crowding this weekend. Not only the poor in Rio are tired of the never-ending fear and the doctrine that grows from it. The wealthy are even more so.
Repression from the South Zone to Downtown
The Municipal Guard visited a nightclub in Copacabana and ordered people waiting in line to leave. On Ipanema Beach, officers also managed to disperse a group at Farme de Amoedo Street.
With policing backed up by mounted police, Lapa was empty in the early hours of Tuesday morning – even the Praça dos Arcos stands were deserted. Another typical partying spot in the city, the Largo de São Francisco da Prainha was also left without a samba group or carnival block.
Crowded weekend
Between Friday night and Sunday morning, Rio city hall teams issued 25 fines and interdicted 14 establishments due to crowds.
Sunday also saw crowded beaches in the city’s South Zone. In the afternoon, there was a party on Gigóia Island, in the city’s West Zone. The event was interrupted by inspections, but started again as soon as the agents left.
On Monday morning (15), Globocop caught images of a dance in Cidade de Deus, in Rio’s West Zone, with a large number of people without masks and no distance.
Globocop also filmed another crowded spot in Costa Barros, near one of the accesses to Morro da Pedreira, in the North Zone. A party began early Sunday night and continued through the early morning hours.
Some people put on masks, but removed them soon after the inspectors walked away. In addition, one person was arrested for contempt and dozens were fined for not wearing masks.
On Mem de Sá street, in Lapa, downtown, several bars also ignored the rules established in the flexibilization. Clients were drinking at tables very close to each other and standing up, ignoring the reinforced policing in the neighborhood.
In reaction to the many complaints, the state police issued a note announcing that it is develops joint actions with enforcement agencies in order to curb unauthorized events.
“Much more than a matter of public safety, this is a matter of respect for others,” said the force. “The question arises, is respect a one-way street,” says a partygoer.
Beaches were crowded all along the city’s waterfront. At some points, it was difficult to see the sand strip. In Leblon, the most crowded location was Posto 12.