Rio de Janeiro’s world-famous carnival parade has been postponed, the samba schools that organize the event announced on Thursday, as the country grapples with the second-deadliest coronavirus outbreak in the world. Samba schools in Rio de Janeiro announced they would delay the February 2021 Carnival because of COVID-19, and said it would probably not take place until a vaccine was found. “It’s increasingly difficult to have Carnival without a vaccine. There is no way to have Carnival without safety.” Brazil is dealing with the world’s worst outbreak of COVID-19 after the United States, and the Rio Carnival would pose a huge risk: an extended festival of tightly packed crowds dancing through the streets and flocking to the city’s iconic “Sambadrome” for enormous parades and all-night partying. The festival draws millions of domestic and international tourists to the beachside city every year.
