Brazil postpones Rio’s famed carnival

Brazil has postponed Rio de Janeiro's famed carnival for next year, the latest spectacle hit by the pandemic as governments across the globe struggle to contain a surge in coronavirus infections.

Rio's carnival draws millions for all-night parties in packed streets, making social distancing all but impossible.

Brazil now has the world's second highest death toll after the US — nearly 140,000 fatalities — and is still battling to bring the virus under control.

Rio's samba schools had already warned in July that without certainty of a vaccine this year it would be difficult to organize the February 2021 festival.

It was the first time the carnival had been postponed since 1912.