Riobard

Flu is increasingly wreaking havoc. Here’s a lead for Sampa vaccination if you are there and have yet to be inoculated, in spite of its apparent current reduced efficacy, though it might not yet be open to adults under age 60 (as of 28 Dec); possibly now added. And flu is likely more particulate/droplet than aerosol, so more caution and hygiene handling surfaces, masks, etc. There may be public injection sites at the Rio beaches. One July in Leme near the Fisherman’s Walk there a nurse approached asking if I wanted vaccination on the spot. There may be a current off-season campaign. https://agenciabrasil.ebc.com.br/saude/noticia/2022-01/sp-faz-vacinacao-contra-covid-19-e-influenza-em-todos-os-postos?amp

I was at Clube 117 in Rio and the drag MC was doing the standard stand-up component. I always find it earsplitting in volume and ended up walking through to an exit to access a quieter area. Not surprisingly, it turns out that one of the garotos de programa was walking ahead of me. A tirade of lascivious comments came from the stage. I imagine it happens at most performances but never fails to get a laugh. And I wasn’t following the stud! I really wasn’t!

Correction: São Paulo city about 11-12,000,000 so about 1/4 state pop 46,000,000

Now updated to 317 (city) and 615 (state) admissions in one day, respectively. I should note that the SP city tally is subsumed within the state tally; when teased out it simply reflects proportionality. I believe that the greater metropolitan population is close to one-half the state population. About 10,000 cases presenting with respiratory symptoms presumed COVID at São Paulo city hospitals over the first 3 days of the year. Omicron progressively predominant. Rapid antigen testing appointments getting hard to come by due to surging demand leading to supply deficits at pharmacies, etc. I am not sure about molecular test eg RT-PCR accessibility in locations previously referenced here on the board.

Oh, here we go. São Paulo city and state hospitalizations now increasing. Not surprisingly, urban metropolis proportionally higher. If trend of less severity holds up then hospital admissions are a reasonable ‘canary in coal mine’ surrogate marker for Omicron background incidence even if community diagnosis has largely slipped. I assume the bed count is differentiated from influenza cases. In any case, Omicron seems definitely growing in new CoV case incidence. This suggests it might be wise to periodically rapid antigen test approaching a date at which one leaves Brazil, so as to help avoid being caught off guard by a test-positive closer to boarding. If Omicron follows the typical vastly exponential increase pattern seen elsewhere, whether quantified or not in Brazil, one might expect renewed venue restrictions for the sake of preserving health care delivery capacity.

It’s a challenge to get a read on this. São Paulo, ordinarily doing solid pandemic surveillance for the state throughout the pandemic, abruptly stopped reporting cases 3 weeks ago.

Imma add some old timey stuff. AFAIK the fireworks are a go but I think public transportation such as Metro is closed so as not to facilitate crowds heading to Copacabana. So if you are there and not on location, but perhaps viewing on telly, here’s a bit of history, though there may be better sources. It just showed up in my social media feed.

I broke my Squid Game viewing to watch the first episode and ended up binging it practically in one sitting as was interesting. Who gets laid always trumps who loses their marbles.

Medipac in Canada seems OK. I have used them before and the non-essential travel coverage exclusion clause #28 apparently does not apply when the travel advisory defines the reason for avoiding non-essential travel as being COVID-related. They also have an increased premium option that includes COVID. Do you know of any red flags about it?

Perhaps somewhat premature to decide 2 months ahead, but …

Sorry, Gremlins on this board when I attempted to add a few sentences to my original post seconds later.

Today’s trend, things under control compared to many other world regions, is irrelevant to the picture that could have emerged by two months from now, given how quickly new case incidence can surge anywhere and the prospect that all nations are invited to the Omicron party whether they want to be dragged into it or not. Bogotá does seem to have a fairly good surveillance site that anyone planning to travel there may want to deep-five into … unfortunately it’s much heavier on cumulative metrics that are relatively useless to visitors than it is on rolling incidence per capita but you can see on one of the graphs the absolute number of new cases by day as well as the option to have table view that shows the exact number for each day from beginning of pandemic to today’s date. https://saludata.saludcapital.gov.co/osb/index.php/datos-de-salud/enfermedades-trasmisibles/covid19/

Addendum: The antigen test became an option commencing Oct 5th.

1) It appears that at some point an antigen test was added as an alternative to molecular (eg, RT-PCR), but these screenshots are from a Brazilian consulate in USA, so best to check if it’s otherwise for a non-American, as it may simply be cross-national reciprocity. However, my best guess is the antigen test is now accepted from anyone. 2) I am quite sure the quarantine option for non-vaccinated was removed, but it seems moot for board members here that would not want restrictions to enter establishments, however enforced or not those are. ******Obviously a typo error as the intention would be the full vaccination regimen would have been completed at least 14 days PRIOR to boarding for travel to Brazil. 3) I assume is same format as when introduced months ago. I wonder if at some point it will be required to enter vaccination info on this declaration.

The mini-bar extinction is mainly an artefact of concern related to microbial transmission from surfaces. The contents may have been handled by any number of room occupants. Think CoV-infected runny-nosed rugrat. Hotels assert broad-range fomite disinfection between stays but it’s impractical to swab every Toblerone and Smirnoff that the filthy guest prior to you may have mauled and placed back. Some people also use hotels for quarantine if they have been in contact with an infected person, for example to protect other family members, and it is not obligatory to report the reason for stay. Hoteliers have always hated the labour-intensity and minimal profit margins of mini-bars anyway. Surface contact transmission is less of a concern for an airborne pathogen but I doubt we’ll see a return of this amenity in establishments that have amputated them.

… I suppose the country entry mandate will obviate the need for venues to rigorously check vaccination status of foreign nationals because they already will have passed go.

Brazil Supreme Court just ruled today that vaccination is (will be) required for entry to country, as opposed to the recent proposal unvacc’d would only be subject to 5 days quarantine. But to your question, always make sure that any digital version you possess clearly delineates the vaccine product and dates, and that it corresponds to one or more of the approved products where you visit. And somehow find a way to print some kind of version on paper, as that seems to be the ubiquitous format there and you cannot transfer your certification to the national SUS platform. Brazilians I know there have a card format. In Canada the site prints your record for you and we also register to get a matrix code for various purposes. May be inconvenient to print a PDF or screenshot onto paper ahead of time, but likely convenient to have that format on hand once there. And if I have this right, it is essential to have it in either English or Portuguese. Bathhouses may not be enforcement inclined, but why go to the trouble of pursuing inoculation and associated certification but not print it?

Is that what is meant by slipping through the cracks there?

That’s odd, compared to Monik’s apparently greater attempts at mitigation intentionality, as Junior has always projected Alpha in terms of determination to stay above water and the club reputedly has both B.1.1.7 and Q lineages. The majority of occupants’ thirst overrides balking at entrance requirements. Applying public health guidance diligently is directly correlated with venue sustainability.

And by the way, while we’re on the topic of nasalpharyngeal viral shedding, what’s with this dumb viral faddism, and are their innocent designer pooches destined for parallel fashion statements? All my ratings 1-10 are dripping a point, ex cept umm … if it’s removable, or one of them is otherwise extraordinary enough to separate himself from the herd and I can muster up the forbearance to roll with it. Eeesh … what a flaccidizer.

Shoving your tongue into a guy’s mouth and his hole 1:1 in a suite at, say, Lagoa, is likely low risk. It’s the air in the main congregation area on a busy night that’s the new poop.

It’s a decree established a week ago and I expect a lot of establishments are not thrilled about being enforcers. There is a lack of uniformity across states, regions, and municipalities as Bolsonaro and the courts continue to battle out decisions. Like many places, Quebec province has a scannable app that contains a QR matrix code proving vaccination. Scanners are issued to bars, gyms, restaurants etc. It’s much faster for venues than dealing with a mix of paper certifications and matrix codes. But you won’t get into an establishment here without it and fines can be levied against lackadaisical venues.