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

harvardpublichealthreview.org

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

#71

Post by matwood »

cven714 wrote: post #15
blowski wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

That video is pretty bad. One, it looks like the same kids over and over so the cops clearly do not care. Two, I was wondering what the gun laws were there until some guy chased them with a hand gun. If someone is looking to go have some fun fighting it seems like walking around with a cardboard iPhone might be the ticket. I'm only sort of kidding. I know if some kid grabbed my wife while we were walking down the street there would be a fight.

The only other place I have seen it like the above is the gypsy kids in Rome. Even then though they were more slight of hand pick pockets than the blatant assault in the video.

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

#72

Post by ramon »

draw_down wrote: post #8
ramon wrote: 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!

Don't worry, the virus will not be racist.

This is exactly what I mean, these are the type of people that are writing this article!

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

#73

Post by rsync »

blowski wrote: post #9
askyourmother wrote: post #5

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…

"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 holiday."

I generally espouse this view ... that being sensible and street smart are the important parts to visiting different cities and that, in general, they are all fairly safe.

However, I also would describe Rio and Sao Paulo as a little further along the danger/risk meter.

You know all those warnings and rules of thumb that people pass on about pickpocketing and scams and tricksters and so on ? And they never really pan out or materialize ? In Rio, they do.

I would feel more safe (than Rio) in Shanghai or Shenzhen, less safe (than Rio) in Tijuana.

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

#74

Post by shaggy »

ChicagoBoy11 wrote: post #45

This article is idiotic if the main reason for cancelling the game is actually some "global spread" of Zika. Rio is not some city in the middle of nowhere from which no flights are coming in and out of, and now suddenly this massive international influx of visitors will come in -- it is a world-class city, a financial hub of the largest country in the continent. If we take London 2012 as a benchmark, estimates there…

Yes, Rio sees many visitors regularly. What Rio does not see is an influx of visitors from nearly every country on earth. It's that spread that is the problem. The financial impact on hosting the games is already negative for host cities. That's no longer debatable without ignoring fact. Your argument that all the experts studying the Zika epidemic and drawing the ever more cemented conclusion that this is a very serious problem are wrong is what is hogwash.

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

#75

Post by ChicagoBoy11 »

illumen wrote: post #55
ChicagoBoy11 wrote: post #45

This article is idiotic if the main reason for cancelling the game is actually some "global spread" of Zika. Rio is not some city in the middle of nowhere from which no flights are coming in and out of, and now suddenly this massive international influx of visitors will come in -- it is a world-class city, a financial hub of the largest country in the continent. If we take London 2012 as a benchmark, estimates there…

London has the most tourists of any city in the world. No, it's not the same.

I looked up the actual figures after posting -- seems London has about 5x as many international visitors, so you are absolutely right.

But, I think in Rio there is also an argument to be made of how many of those "estimated" visitors are actually simply displacing people who would otherwise have travelled to Rio. To your point, if Rio is in fact no set-up to accommodate as many people as London, then a lot of the effect of the games will simply be substituting regular travelers with Olympics watchers.

Either way -- the only point I guess I was really trying to make was that the variable of interest is the delta in the actual visitors to Rio -- you want an economist making this argument, not a health expert

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

#76

Post by blowski »

matwood wrote: post #71
cven714 wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

That video is pretty bad. One, it looks like the same kids over and over so the cops clearly do not care. Two, I was wondering what the gun laws were there until some guy chased them with a hand gun. If someone is looking to go have some fun fighting it seems like walking around with a cardboard iPhone might be the ticket. I'm only sort of kidding. I know if some kid grabbed my wife while we were walking down the str…

My colleague had his phone stolen as he was talking on it by two guys on a moped - that was in Bond Street, London.

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

#77

Post by Cyph0n »

rubidium wrote: post #64
ChicagoBoy11 wrote: post #45

This article is idiotic if the main reason for cancelling the game is actually some "global spread" of Zika. Rio is not some city in the middle of nowhere from which no flights are coming in and out of, and now suddenly this massive international influx of visitors will come in -- it is a world-class city, a financial hub of the largest country in the continent. If we take London 2012 as a benchmark, estimates there…

Good point. I agreed with the author until I looked up Brazil's tourism. 5.6 Million people per year in 2015 ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourism_in_Brazil ).

I'm surprised that people need to look up such a thing. Brazil is a hot tourism destination, especially from other South American countries. It's also has a huge economy and has excellent manufacturing capabilities.

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

#78

Post by ChicagoBoy11 »

komali2 wrote: post #68
ChicagoBoy11 wrote: post #45

This article is idiotic if the main reason for cancelling the game is actually some "global spread" of Zika. Rio is not some city in the middle of nowhere from which no flights are coming in and out of, and now suddenly this massive international influx of visitors will come in -- it is a world-class city, a financial hub of the largest country in the continent. If we take London 2012 as a benchmark, estimates there…

5,677,000 tourists to Brazil in 2012. So 500,000 is an 8% increase, correct?

Well you have to be fair that that is taking ALL of Brazil into account, and some regions are unaffected by this virus -- but the largest builk of it (I think around 80%) are the cities of São Paulo and Rio, which are affected by the virus.

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

#79

Post by kjax »

burke wrote: post #58
deanCommie wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He said in a dodgy area . Pray tell what is this magical city you live in that does not have a single dodgy area.

I can't think of a place in Ottawa that I wouldn't feel comfortable wandering around late at night with my phone out.

I'd say the same for Vancouver or Victoria.

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

#80

Post by maxerickson »

wyldfire wrote: post #65

Ever since the news of Zika causing microcephaly came up I have been wondering whether it's a net benefit to humanity/homeostasis if we were to exterminate Aedis Aegypti. Can Zika spread among humans already? It would seem like a huge risk to the future of humanity if this infectious disease interferes with reproduction. What's the worst-case scenario for letting Aedis Aegypti live? Is it better than the worst-case s…

Zika is a big threat to fetuses that are gestating while the mother is infected. After a woman gains immunity, there is little threat to any babies she might carry.

So it is a very serious concern at the moment, but it is not any sort of existential problem. It will likely not even be a medium term problem (there is early research towards vaccines).

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