Rio de Janeiro decrees the end of the use of masks

Last week, the Ministry of Health announced that they were analyzing lifting the state of a pandemic at the federal level, all at the rate of the fall in infections and the increase in vaccination rates.

This week the mayor of the second most populous city in Brazil, Eduardo Paes, announced that the use of masks in closed spaces will no longer be mandatory. The authorities warned, however, that the requirement to present the vaccination certificate before entering closed spaces will remain in force until the end of the month.  

"We have the lowest transmission since the beginning of the pandemic, and a positivity of less than 5%, with a gradual reduction in recent weeks," said the municipal secretary of Health, Daniel Soranz. 83.8% of the population of Rio already has the complete cycle of immunization (two doses or single dose vaccine), an index that reaches 89.2% when considering the population that can be vaccinated (over 5 years of age ), and 42.3% already have the booster dose. 

The places where a vaccination certificate is required in Rio de Janeiro until the end of March are: 

Bars, cafes, restaurants and dining rooms (indoor or covered areas) 
Nightclubs, concert halls, parties and events in general 
Hotels, inns and vacation rental properties 
Beauty salons and aesthetic centers 
Gyms, swimming pools, training centers, clubs and villas Stadiums  
and sports facilities 
Cinemas, theaters, concert halls, game rooms, circuses, children's recreation and skating rinks 
Museums, art galleries and exhibitions, aquariums, amusement parks, theme parks, water parks, shows and drive-ins 
Congresses, conventions and trade shows 

The Brazilian capitals that still require the use of masks indoors and outdoors are Belo Horizonte, Curitiba, Porto Alegre, Goiania, Florianópolis, Maceió, Salvador, Fortaleza, Recife, Vitória, João Pessoa, Teresina, Natal, Rio Branco, Macapá, Belem. , Boa Vista and Palmas. São Luís (Maranhão), Brasilia (DF), Cuiabá, and Campo Grande require use only in closed spaces, while São Paulo - the most populous city in Brazil - is preparing for an opening similar to the one announced by Rio de Janeiro.