Rio To Reopen Stadiums To Fans In September

Football stadiums in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro - including the iconic Maracana stadium - will reopen to fans at 50% capacity in September, mayor Eduardo Paes said on Friday

RIO DE JANEIRO, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 30th Jul, 2021 ) --:Football stadiums in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro - including the iconic Maracana stadium - will reopen to fans at 50% capacity in September, mayor Eduardo Paes said on Friday.

Spectators must be fully vaccinated and will be obliged to wear masks while observing social distancing rules, Paes said.

The measure forms part of the city's COVID-19 flexibilization plan, which envisions stadiums reopening at full capacity on October 17.

"If the health secretary comes to me and says that it is not possible because [infection rates] have increased or a new variant has arrived, we will immediately interrupt any opening process and can impose new restrictive measures," Paes said.

"Everything indicates at this moment, in regards to hospitalizations and deaths, that we are seeing an improvement. It's not an ideal time yet, so the restrictions continue and the opening is gradual."Fans have mostly been banned from football stadiums in Rio since March last year when the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic.