Some of the Brazilian regions, such as Bahia and Salvador, joined Rio de Janeiro's decision to cancel Brazil's most popular festival.​​

Rio de Janeiro, January 6 (RHC)-- The mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes, reports that the blocks of Brazil's famous street carnival will not parade in 2022, after the increase of infections registered in the city of the Omicron variant during the Christmas festivities.

The traditional festivity was planned to be celebrated next February 25 to March 1th.  The carnival  counts on the competition of samba schools and the passing of street blocks, a moment that gathers millions of people, both national and international.

However, according to the figures registered by the Health Department of the Rio de Janeiro City Hall, the city detected community transmission of the new Omicron variant; likewise, the positivity rate rises from one percent, in mid-December, to 13 percent in the last week.

In this sense, the president of Sebastiana, an association representing 11 of the main blocks of the city, Rita Fernandes, stated that the epidemiological situation makes the parades impossible, since the lives of the revelers are put at risk.

The Rio de Janeiro City Hall said that so far the carnival of the samba schools, called the Sambadrome of Marquês da Sapucaí, will not be cancelled; this event gathers around 70,000 people.  As a requirement to celebrate this section of the Brazilian carnivals, the vaccination certificate will be mandatory, as well as the negative result of the PCR of the participants.

On the other hand, some of the Brazilian regions, such as Bahia and Salvador, joined Rio de Janeiro's decision to cancel Brazil's most popular festival.