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The new rules for the operation of commerce, bars and restaurants in the state of São Paulo will begin to come into effect at 12:01 am on Saturday (12).
In an announcement made on the afternoon of last Friday (11), the state government extended business hours and limited the operation of bars. The goal, according to the State Department of Health, is to reduce crowds, especially of young people.
Starting today, stores and shopping centers will be able to operate 12 hours a day, until 10 p.m. Until yesterday, they could only be open a maximum of ten hours a day, due to the yellow phase of the São Paulo Plan, announced at the beginning of December.
The bars suffered the opposite effect: the maximum opening hours fell from 10 p.m. to 8 p.m. Restaurants can serve customers seated until 10 pm, but the sale of alcoholic beverages must be suspended at 8 pm. The same goes for convenience stores.
In all cases, the maximum occupancy limit of 40% is maintained.
The decision is valid for the entire state, but the municipalities have autonomy to accept or not the measures. In return, the government indicates that it will activate the MP-SP (São Paulo State Prosecutor’s Office) in case of non-compliance with the regulations.
The goal is to avoid crowds
According to the São Paulo government, the new rules are necessary amid an increase in deaths and hospitalizations in the state. For companies, the objective is to avoid crowds with the distribution of people between opening hours.
The change of bars and restaurants points to the growing contagion among young people. Between March and November, the age group with the highest demand for beds was 55 to 75 years old. In the past three weeks, it has fallen to the 30-50 year range.
People aged 20 to 39, the main audience in bars, account for 40% of hospitalizations and 3.6% of deaths.
