Crowds gather overlooking restrictions in Rio bars

Crowds of people spilling out of bars into the streets, most of them not wearing masks, were seen on Thursday night in Rio de Janeiro. The City Hall proceeded with its gradual reopening plan by allowing gyms, restaurants and bars to operate with some restrictions, including to work at a maximum of 50 percent of its capacity inside.

Videos posted on social media showed people gathering in the bars in a street in Leblon, a wealthy neighbourhood of Rio de Janeiro.

The crowd largely ignored the restrictions requested by the authorities to avoid the spread of the virus, including the use of mask that has been mandatory in the state since June.

Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro approved a law making to mandatory to wear masks on streets and in public transport, but vetoed portions that would require them in churches, schools, shops and factories.

In his veto published on Friday, Bolsonaro argued that forcing people to use masks in such spaces could constitute a breach of individual property rights.

The Brazilian president also vetoed an article that would have forced the government to provide masks to

The viral curves of Rio de Janeiro, one of Brazil's hardest-hit cities, has begun to decline along with the occupation rate of its intensive care units.

However, experts disagreed with the opening of bars, malls and schools while the number of victims and people infected in the country keeps growing, and alerted that there's a risk of a new spike in cases.

Latin America's most populous nation has confirmed more than 61,500 deaths and nearly 1,500,000 cases, the second largest spread in the world.

Specialists say both are under reported due to the lack of widespread testing.

On Thursday, Brazil reported its second highest daily increase in cases, more than 48,000, as well as nearly 1,200 deaths.