Covid-19: Rio Desists from App Used to Reserve Beach Space

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Rio de Janeiro’s city government gave up on the project in which citizens would have to reserve beach space through an ‘online’ App, after criticism triggered by this initiative aimed at fighting Covid-19.

“Due to the population’s reactions in the survey we conducted, that it wouldn’t work (beach reservation), we are keeping the ban on sunbathing,” announced the mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Marcelo Crivella.

“Swimming is allowed, people can buy something to eat, but then they must go home,” explained the mayor, who is a candidate for re-election in the November municipal elections.

Last week, after Crivella announced the implementation of a beach space reservation system through an online App, Internet users flooded social media with messages complaining it was a measure impossible to put into practice.

In the “marvellous city” swimming in the ocean and sports activities were already allowed on the beaches – with the wearing of masks – but just remaining on the sand to enjoy the landscape or sunbathing was prohibited.

However, this did not prevent thousands of people from invading the Copacabana, Ipanema or Leblon beaches in recent weeks, few of them wearing masks.

Rio de Janeiro, the second most populous city in the country with about seven million inhabitants, began a gradual reopening of activities in early June.

The city is one of the regions where the novel coronavirus is starting to subside, along with most municipalities in the state of Rio de Janeiro, one of the most affected by the pandemic, which totals 194,279 confirmed cases of Covid-19 and 14,562 deaths.