RIO DE JANEIRO: Brazil's Supreme Court has upheld a requirement that all who access Rio de Janeiro's tourist spots, including the iconic Copacabana beach, starting Friday (Saturday in Manila) must have a Covid-19 vaccine certificate. Foreign visitors are allowed to present an international health pass. A judge in a lower court had scrapped the measure, calling it tantamount to "health dictatorship." But federal supreme court justice Luiz Fux reversed that decision on Thursday night, arguing that the efforts to combat the pandemic, such as the health pass, are the responsibility of the mayor's office. "This is a tourist city that wants to celebrate New Year's, carnival and summer with its hotels full," said Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes, welcoming the court ruling.

Source: Manila Times October 02, 2021 16:52 UTC