Rio de Janeiro's world-famous carnival parades became the latest casualty of the coronavirus pandemic as officials announced they were indefinitely postponing the February 2021 edition, with Brazil still reeling from Covid-19.

Meeting again to assess the situation, “we came to the conclusion that the event had to be postponed,” said Jorge Castanheira, the president of the group that organises the annual parades.

“We just can't do it in February. The samba schools won't have the time or financial and organisational resources to be ready,” he told journalists after a plenary meeting by the group's directors.

“It's not a cancellation, it's a postponement. 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.”