Sao Paulo to reopen football stadiums in November

SAO PAULO: AUGUST 5 – Football fans in Sao Paulo, Brazil’s most populous state, will be free to return to stadiums from November 1 for the first time in almost 20 months, officials said on Wednesday.

Only those who are fully vaccinated will be allowed to attend matches and they must obey strict health protocols, including the use of a mask.

Sao Paulo’s economic development secretary, Patricia Ellen, did not stipulate the capacity at which venues could open but said social distancing rules would be maintained.

“The capacity [available] needs to be calculated because there can be no agglomeration, and people need to keep a distance from one another,” Ellen told a news conference.

Sao Paulo state is home to around 45 million inhabitants and its eponymous capital is South America’s biggest metropolis with more than 21 million people living in the greater metropolitan area.

Several other Brazilian cities have also announced plans for the gradual return of football spectators amid falling coronavirus case numbers and deaths.

Last week, Rio de Janeiro mayor Eduardo Paes said the iconic Maracana stadium and other venues in the city would reopen at 50% capacity in September.

Fans have mostly been banned from stadiums in Brazil’s major cities since March last year when the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic.

Exceptions were made for the Copa Libertadores final in January and the Copa America final in July. On both occasions, the 78,000-seat Maracana was opened at around 10 per cent capacity.

According to official figures, Brazil has had over 20 million positive COVID-19 cases and more than 559,000 deaths.

-XINHUA