Coronavirus

Cities urge road blockades as beach tourism rises on Labor Day

Cities urge road blockades as beach tourism rises on Labor Day
Riviera de São Lourenço. Photo: Divulgação

Nine mayors from the Santos Metro Area formally requested São Paulo Governor João Dória to block access routes to their cities. According to the mayors, the influx of people from the capital to the coast intensified this Labor Day (May 1), which could jeopardize social isolation measures and further spread the coronavirus. The group of mayors urged the government to restrict access to residents and essential workers. “Quarantine is not a vacation,” they wrote in an open letter.

On Thursday, there were traffic jams at luxury beachfront tourism complex Riviera de São Lourenço. The municipal government argued that it was a result of enhanced road inspections. It also indicated that residents, healthcare professionals, and other essential workers have priority in accessing the complex.

Combined, the Santos Metro Area had confirmed over 1,500 Covid-19 cases and 112 deaths out of a population of 433,966 as of Thursday night. The region’s intensive care units’ occupancy rate stands at around 80 percent.