MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th September, 2020) The parade organizers of Rio de Janeiro's world-famous annual carnival have announced that they will postpone festivities, which were scheduled to take place this coming February, due to the coronavirus disease outbreak, the head of the Independent League of Samba Schools, Jorge Castanheira, said Friday.
"Due to the lack of security and uncertainty among scientists on whether there will be a vaccine by February, we have decided that the event should be postponed. Samba schools do not have the time, money, and organizational capacity to make preparations by February," Castanheira, said as quoted by Brazil's G1 portal.
Should a safe and effective vaccine be created and distributed throughout Brazil, it may be possible to hold the parades at a later date, the league head remarked.
Rio de Janeiro's carnival is traditionally held in the week before Lent, and the next edition of the event was scheduled to be held from February 12-17. The last time the festivities were postponed was 1912, following the death of the country's then-foreign minister.
Brazil is currently battling one of the world's most severe outbreaks of COVID-19. Since the start of the pandemic, more than 4.6 million cases and 139,000 deaths have been registered in the South American country.
On Thursday, the country's public health authorities recorded in excess of 32,800 new positive tests for COVID-19 and 831 new fatalities due to complications from the disease.
