The reopening of beaches and bars as Rio de Janeiro heads into the heady summer season risks a second spike of coronavirus infections, experts warned, even as Brazil's second-largest city dismantles much of its emergency healthcare capacity, according to a Reuters report.

Pictures of dense parasols rolling carpet-like over Rio's famed beaches and rowdy street-side drinking have gone viral in recent weeks, alarming epidemiologists who fear the reopening may have come too soon.

Part of the problem, they say, is that Rio's decision to ease restrictions was based partly on incorrect data showing a fall in deaths, which later turned out to only be a bureaucratic delay in their notification.