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Concerns for global spread of Zika mean Rio de Janeiro Olympics must not proceed

harvardpublichealthreview.org

11–20 of 213 posts

Re: Concerns for global spread of Zika mean Rio de Janeiro Olympics must not proceed

#11
post #3

I was wondering about whether this would happen. I am not enough of an expert to make a call on this either way of course, but if experts decided this was the right call would it even be possible to cancel/reschedule the Olympics? Imagine the financial impact on Rio.

I imagine Rio would be given the 2020 Summer Games. And then Tokyo would be moved to 2024 and so on. Just my guess though.

Re: Concerns for global spread of Zika mean Rio de Janeiro Olympics must not proceed

#12
I wonder if the medical community is also working with the state department, airlines and travel agencies to make sure people get a stern warning before they buy plane tickets to Brazil and an even sterner warning when they get back.

Considering the political forces that need to be involved in moving (or not) the games it seems foolish to not have a safety net if "please move the games" doesn't work.

Re: Concerns for global spread of Zika mean Rio de Janeiro Olympics must not proceed

#14
post #2

I think this is a stupid statement made by people that are not in Rio. I live a longtime in Rio and never had Dengue, Zika or whatever.. right now it's cold in Rio de Janeiro so mosquitos are dead or dying, how are you going to get Zika with dead mosquitos right now? Stupids and racists from Harvard, search more references first!

> I live a longtime in Rio and never had Dengue, Zika

Don't be so sure about that. Most people who contract both of those don't know that they have them as the symptoms are so mild they are mistaken for a simple cold.

But no, it's just racists pretending that diseases can spread.

You can relax anyway, there is too much money to be made by those running the games in Rio to have it canceled. No one actually cares if people get sick.

Re: Concerns for global spread of Zika mean Rio de Janeiro Olympics must not proceed

#15
post #9

Come to Rio - watch the Olympians swim in the very dirty water they promised to clean but didn't! Catch zika, then fill out the police and insurance forms after you get robbed! Seriously though, Rio is a very very dangerous place to visit even for brasileros, let alone tourists, and the zika and chinkungya virus outbreaks are not helping either. Watch it on TV, from far away.

As a middle-income tourist who has had multiple holidays in Rio, the closest I've come to being robbed was by a taxi driver that wanted $200 to travel from Corcovado to Pao de Acucar. Seriously, it's like any other city in the world. If you walk around a dodgy area talking on an iPhone, by yourself, especially late at night, then you're asking for trouble. Be sensible and cautious, and Rio is a lovely place to go on…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=if6GLohPq8k

Not that incidents like this don't occur in other cities in the world, but it shows that avoiding dodgy areas at night might not be enough.

Re: Concerns for global spread of Zika mean Rio de Janeiro Olympics must not proceed

#17
post #3

I was wondering about whether this would happen. I am not enough of an expert to make a call on this either way of course, but if experts decided this was the right call would it even be possible to cancel/reschedule the Olympics? Imagine the financial impact on Rio.

[deleted]

Re: Concerns for global spread of Zika mean Rio de Janeiro Olympics must not proceed

#18
That's not going to happen -- not when their economy is in a nosedive and they are embroiled in impeachment proceedings.

At most they'll spray and fumigate the skeeters for the few weeks the activities take place and then go back to "normal".

Re: Concerns for global spread of Zika mean Rio de Janeiro Olympics must not proceed

#19
post #9

Come to Rio - watch the Olympians swim in the very dirty water they promised to clean but didn't! Catch zika, then fill out the police and insurance forms after you get robbed! Seriously though, Rio is a very very dangerous place to visit even for brasileros, let alone tourists, and the zika and chinkungya virus outbreaks are not helping either. Watch it on TV, from far away.

As a middle-income tourist who has had multiple holidays in Rio, the closest I've come to being robbed was by a taxi driver that wanted $200 to travel from Corcovado to Pao de Acucar. Seriously, it's like any other city in the world. If you walk around a dodgy area talking on an iPhone, by yourself, especially late at night, then you're asking for trouble. Be sensible and cautious, and Rio is a lovely place to go on…

talking on an iPhone, by yourself, especially late at night, then you're asking for trouble.

Please don't apply your standards other cities of the world. What you described does not happen in my (capital) city. In fact if you drop something, you will likely get it back.

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