Rio de Janeiro cancels its year-end party after first cases of the omicron in Brazil
The mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes, announced this Saturday the cancellation of the official New Year’s Eve party in the city, which before the pandemic attracted millions of tourists, after registering the first cases of the omicron variant of the coronavirus in Brazil. “We will cancel the official celebration of Christmas Eve river. I make the decision with sadness, but we cannot organize the celebration without the guarantee of all the health authorities, “Paes said on his social networks. The mayor of the capital of Rio de Janeiro stressed that his administration” respects science “and that they followed the recommendation.” more restrictive “, because, as revealed, the scientific committee of the City Council was favorable to the festivities, but that of the State of Rio was not.” I hope to be in Copacabana embracing everyone in the change from 2022 to 2023. this year, but the most important thing is that we continue to vaccinate and save lives, “he added. Rio thus joins at least 21 other regional capitals – out of a total of 27 – that have also decided not to organize any type of public event or concerts to receive 2022, including São Paulo, the most populous city in the country. The main reason is the fear of a new upsurge in the covid-19 pandemic, which has already caused more than 615,000 deaths and 22.1 million infected , e In the middle of the alert for the appearance of the omicron variant. (Eph)
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Merkel asks Germans to get vaccinated in her latest video
Acting German Chancellor Angela Merkel addressed the Germans for the last time this Saturday in a prerecorded video in podcast before leaving office and ordered them to be vaccinated to stop the covid pandemic. “Every vaccine counts,” Merkel said in the video, posted online, noting: “A vaccination quota that is as high as possible helps us all to leave this pandemic behind as a country.” The chancellor took advantage of the last of the more than 600 speeches recorded in this format, as she herself stressed, to insist “one last time” on the seriousness of the situation, which in some parts of Germany is already reaching a “dramatic” level. Each of the more than 100,000 deaths recorded to date leaves behind “family or friends, incredulous, confused, helpless”, something that is particularly bitter because “it could be avoided.” “With vaccines, effective and safe, we have the key in hand,” stressed the acting chancellor, who warned that “the new omicron variant seems to be even more contagious than the previous ones.” Merkel ended her message by thanking those who act “with good sense and understanding” and “follow the rules, to protect themselves and to take care of others” and stressed that they represent “the vast majority of the country.” The Social Democrat Olaf Scholz is scheduled to be inaugurated as Chancellor on December 8, ending Merkel’s 16-year mandate. In her speech, the president recalled that she used the format podcast for the first time in June 2006, when it was a rare novelty, and that his first message concerned the World Cup held that year in Germany. Merkel explained that, during the last 15 years, she has seen in this format the possibility of communicating in a “more direct” way important issues for her, whether they were linked to the government of the country, or were issues “to which the right is not provided. deserved attention “. (Agencies)
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