Rio de Janeiro bars, restaurants and gyms reopen after three months lockdown

Record ID: 1560502

  • Title: Rio de Janeiro bars, restaurants and gyms reopen after three months lockdown
  • Date: 2nd July 2020
  • Summary: RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL (JULY 2, 2020) (REUTERS) PEOPLE SITTING AT BAR IN FRONT BEACH BAR MANAGER TALKING WITH CUSTOMERS (SOUNDBITE) (Portuguese) BAR MANAGER, ALINE DA SILVA, SAYING: "No, they don't say they're afraid, no. They come in, they use face masks and gel. They sit down and drink a beer, they talk, the usual. We just opened after almost four months of being closed, now we're coming back, but it's okay. It's working." BAR IN FRONT OF THE BEACH PEOPLE SITTING IN FRONT OF RESTAURANT PEOPLE WALKING IN FRONT OF RESTAURANT EMPTY TABLE AND A SIGN THAT READS (Portuguese) "TABLE UNAVAILABLE" CUSTOMER AT RESTAURANT VARIOUS OF PEOPLE EATING AT RESTAURANTS
  • Embargoed: 16th July 2020 21:08
  • Keywords: Brazil COVID-19 Rio de Janeiro coronavirus gym lockdown reopen restaurants
  • Location: RIO DE JANEIRO AND BRASILIA, BRAZIL
  • City: RIO DE JANEIRO AND BRASILIA, BRAZIL
  • Country: Brazil
  • Reuters ID: LVA001CL4BWAV
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: In Rio de Janeiro on Thursday (July 2), residents could once again run along the beaches and drink a chilled coconut water at the kiosks that line the sand, as Brazil's second city tried to return to some normality despite a heavy coronavirus death toll.
    Cariocas, as Rio's inhabitants are known, went to bars, restaurants and gyms that are now allowed to operate again in the latest stage of reopening that had some experts worried about a new wave of infections. The beaches remained closed for sunbathing, but opened for individual exercise.
    Brazil has the world's second largest outbreak behind the United States, with the country's death toll passing 60,000 on Wednesday (July 1).
    In Rio alone, 6,618 people have died of COVID-19 in the past four months. Only 14 countries in the world have a death toll higher than the city. Public hospitals are at 70% capacity.
    At a restaurant in Copacabana, Fernando Melo said he was relieved to be back at work.
    City Hall has laid out various public health criteria to try and ensure a safe return to business, which include limiting capacity and requiring people to book in advance, but medical experts still fear the move may have come too soon.
    Rio still has an elevated number of daily deaths showing the virus remains highly active.
    From Sunday until Wednesday, Rio registered 252 deaths due to COVID-19 according to the Ministry of Health.
    (Production: Sebastian Rocandio, Sergio Querioz, Liamar Ramos)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2020. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
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