Rio postpones world-famous Carnival over COVID-19

Rio De Janeiro's annual carnival parade, which was scheduled to be held in February 2021, has been postponed indefinitely amid the Covid-19 pandemic, according to organisers. The samba schools involved in the parade, which attracts millions of visitors every year, had previously warned it would be difficult to organise without a vaccine for the novel coronavirus, the BBC reported. In a statement on Thursday, Jorge Castanheira, president of samba league Liesa, said: "We are looking for an alternative solution, something we can do when it's safe to contribute to the city. But we aren't certain enough to set a date." The announcement does not apply to the local street parties that take place at the same time as the Rio carnival. It is currently unclear if those will be allowed to take place. Due to the pandemic, the Sao Paulo carnival parade has also been delayed until October 2021. Brazil currently accounts for the third highest number of coronavirus cases in the world and the second highest number of fatalities. As of Friday, the country's overall case tally increased to 4,657,702, while the death toll stood at 139,808. The state of Sao Paolo is the worst-hit with over 930,000 cases and 34,677 deaths, followed by Bahia, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro and Ceara. (IANS)

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