Brazil tries to cope with the second wave of coronavirus pandemic
Rio de Janeiro’s traditional carnival will not be held in July, the city’s new mayor said, as Brazil’s second wave of coronavirus gathers momentum.
Eduardo Paes wrote on Twitter that he understands the economic and cultural benefits to the city of the world-famous carnival, which was originally scheduled for February.
He noted, however, that holding the event even in the middle of the year is impossible.
“At this point, it doesn’t even make sense to me to think that we can hold the carnival in July,” the mayor wrote, accompanying the tweet with photos of his participation in previous celebrations.
“I want to let you know that we will not be holding the carnival in mid-2021,” he added.
The new delay came as no surprise. Brazil is struggling to recover from a brutal second-wave pandemic that killed more than 200,000 people. The country has the second-highest number of coronavirus deaths in the world.
