The Special Committee to Combat Covid-19 (CEEC) of the municipality of Rio de Janeiro, in a meeting held today (29), pointed out that, if the current pace of the pandemic trend remains at the same level, “the orientation is that the celebrations of end of the year in the city of Rio can be kept, like the New Year’s Eve party”. The decision is based on the improvement of the city’s epidemiological scenario – evidenced by the sustained drop in cases, deaths and other indicators of covid -19 for weeks.
The committee recommended that “the Municipal Health Secretariat of Rio de Janeiro assesses the possibility and feasibility of requiring a vaccination passport in lodging establishments and other services, in addition to where it is already needed”.
The CEEC also informed that with all cases being tracked and their contacts tested by primary care, there is no indication of a change in the restrictive measures.
micron
The new Ômicron variant, originating in South Africa, which has once again put the world on alert, was also under debate at the meeting of the Special Committee to Combat Covid-19. The experts reinforced the importance of SMS continuing to invest in testing and monitoring of genomic surveillance.
They also warned that there is still not enough data to assess the transmissibility and virulence of Ômicron, and that most cases reported so far have been mild.
Vaccination coverage
The new strain is reason to expand the vaccination coverage of Cariocas who, this Monday (29), is in 76.8% of the total population with the two doses. The CEEC also highlighted that all measures to reduce the risks against covid-19 were adopted and that the high vaccination coverage at this time guarantees collective immunity and the current transmission rate of 0.66.
Anyone who goes to a health center to complete the covid-19 vaccination schedule should also take the opportunity and get immunized against the flu on the same day. Among the 11 thousand respiratory symptomatics seen in the health care network in Rio in the last 15 days evaluated by the CEEC, all tested negative for covid-19.
The Rio Municipality’s Special Committee to Combat Covid-19 is made up of specialists from the Municipal Health Department (SMS), universities, study centers and the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef).