São Paulo Mayor Signs Protocols for Reopening of Museums, Theaters and Events

SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL – Early on Thursday afternoon, September 24th, São Paulo Mayor Bruno Covas signed protocols to reopen the city’s cultural sector. Activities include events, theaters, museums, exhibitions, circus and libraries. The protocols for opening movie theaters had already been signed. (See the main rules below)

Although some activities in these sectors are currently authorized by the state government for regions that have been in the São Paulo Plan’s yellow phase of economic flexibility for over 28 days, Covas has already stated that he will only allow the reopening when the municipality progresses to the green phase.

The municipal government expects that the change to the more permissive phase will occur in the next state reclassification, scheduled for Friday, October 9th. Currently, all of São Paulo’s regions are in the yellow phase.

The rules signed on Thursday authorize events for up to 600 people such as conventions, seminars, workshops, lectures and markets, but parties are still temporarily prohibited. Events for more than 600 people will require special authorization from the municipal administration, but the limit is for up to two thousand people.

“Much more than having the city hall saying what should and what should not be done in a moment of resumption, part of the secret has been to listen to each sector we have authorized to reopen to explain how the isolation, people protection rules, clients and employees should be observed,” said the Mayor.

At the start of the month, the city had already published the rules of the health protocol for the reopening of movie theaters in São Paulo. According to the publication, the establishments will be allowed to host customers during an 8-hour period per day.

Below are the rules for events with up to 600 people:

• Events such as conventions, seminars, workshops, lectures, handicraft markets, gastronomic and similar events are allowed, with parties temporarily forbidden.
• Events with over 600 people must require special authorization. Events with over 2,000 people are forbidden;
• Recommending the public to arrive one hour in advance;
• Reducing the occupancy of the venue to 60 percent of its maximum capacity;
• If there is a search, it can only be conducted by metal detectors;
• Stimulate the distance of 1.5 m between participants;
• Tables may not seat more than six people;
• All clients should be subject to temperature checks

Check the rules for movie theaters:

• Rooms should be opened 30 minutes before the session starts to prevent queues and crowds in customer access areas;
• The wearing of masks is mandatory inside the rooms and hand sanitizers must be available;
• Anyone in the room will only be allowed to remove the mask in order to consume some kind of food;
• Tickets should be preferably sold online and self-service machines should be 1.5 meters away from each other;
• Room capacity should be reduced to 60 percent;
• Seats should be interspersed and at a distance of 1.5 meters between them;
• Groups of over six people are not allowed to be together and floor markings are required to maintain safety and distance between customers.

Check the rules for museums, exhibitions and galleries:

• Submit all environments to an intense prior disinfection process;
• All employees who have symptoms of influenza syndrome should be removed;
• All visitors should undergo temperature checks;
• Preference should be given to online, remote sales or other non-personal attendance methods;
• Under no circumstances allow crowds;
• If lines form outside the establishment, take charge of their organization;
• The setup of exhibitions will be phased whenever possible, avoiding contact between different teams.

Check the rules for theaters, concert halls, circus and the like:

• Before entering the establishment, customers’ temperatures must be checked;
  Preference should be given to online or remote sales;
• In the self-service area, ensure that vending machines are at least 1.5 m away from each other;
• Seats should be interspersed, leaving two free seats between spectators (only people who buy the seats together in groups of up to six are allowed).
• Showrooms with tables must ensure that chairs from a different table remain at a distance of over one meter. Each table will hold a maximum of six people.
• Showrooms where spectators stand must provide floor markings and ensure that the spacing between people will be met, with 2m wide corridors to allow the circulation of people.
• Dressing rooms should be used individually; if this is not possible, the determined distance should be respected;
• Customers are only allowed to eat inside the establishment if seated;
• Photo sessions with artists are forbidden, in order to avoid crowds;
• The stage setup will be arranged in phases whenever possible, avoiding contact between sound and light teams, among others;
• Exits from the events should be staged by seat row, in order to avoid crowds;
• Intermissions during shows should be suspended to prevent the public from circulating;
• Performers should wear masks during shows and performances or, if not wearing masks, they should keep a distance of 6 m from the audience;
• Customers may only remove their masks when sitting in their seats, and while eating;
• The sale of sweets and snacks will only be allowed using cards or other electronic payment means, in order to avoid manual contact between employees and customers;
• Theaters and venues should open one hour before the beginning of each session to prevent queues.

Check the rules for multifunctional cultural facilities:

• Ensuring the mandatory wearing of masks by all visitors, employees, technical staff and suppliers;
• All clients should be subject to temperature checks;
• It is recommended that specific visiting hours be established for risk groups;
• Reducing the occupancy of lounges, open areas, hallways, gardens, among others, to 60 percent of its maximum capacity;
• Intersperse the offered schedule in order to prevent visitors from crowding between events;
• Ensuring a distance of at least 1.5 m between visitors;
• People from the same household will be allowed to remain closer to each other, and groups of over six people will be banned;
• Under no circumstances are crowds allowed.

Below are the guidelines for libraries:

• All users must have their temperature checked;
• Preference will be given to online service, with attendance occurring only when the first is not possible;
• The promotion and organization of events should be avoided;
• Specific visiting times for risk groups are recommended;
• Separation of materials of greater circulation in a place of easy access is recommended to prevent crowds;
• The occupancy of the library area should be limited to 60 percent of its maximum capacity;
• Visits to collections should preferably be made on an individual basis and visitors should always be guided to use sanitizer gel;
• In the study rooms, fewer chairs should be offered to ensure that users can sit 1.5 m away from each other. Chairs from different tables must be spaced at least 1m apart;
• Electronic cards should be preferred, which do not require contact between employees and visitors;
• The confirmation of tickets should be done visually or through optical readers, with no manual contact by employees;
• Returned bools should be sent directly to the pre-determined quarantine area for 48 hours and during the returning the contact between users and employees should be avoided as much as possible.

São Paulo Plan

The São Paulo Plan, which regulates quarantine throughout the state, classifies the state’s regions in colors, determining which locations may move forward in reopening the economy.

To initiate the reopening of the state on June 1st, the government divided the territory according to the 17 Regional Health Divisions (DRS).

Greater São Paulo was subdivided into six other regions, one for the capital and another five for each group of cities in the Metropolitan Region. The flexibility of quarantine is implemented differently in each of these regions.

The criteria for classifying the regions are:

Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds occupancy;
Total beds per 100 thousand inhabitants;
Variation of new admissions, compared to the preceding week;
Variation of new confirmed cases, compared to the preceding week;
Variation of new confirmed deaths, compared to the preceding week.
In the green phase deaths and cases for every 100,000 inhabitants are also considered;
Regions that reach phases 3 (Yellow) or 4 (Green) will remain in these phases as long as they show weekly indicators below 40 hospitalizations for Covid-19 per 100,000 inhabitants and five deaths per 100,000 inhabitants.

Check the main rules of each phase:

Red Phase: Only essential services are allowed to operate.
Orange Phase: Real estate agents, dealerships, offices, trade and shopping malls may also reopen, but subject to restrictions.
Yellow Phase: Beauty salons, bars, restaurants, gyms, parks and cultural activities with sitting public can also reopen, but subject to restrictions.
Green Phase: Events, conventions and cultural activities with a standing public may also reopen when there is a four-week stability in the green phase, also subject to restrictions.

Source: G1