Rio de Janeiro delays Carnival parades as omicron spreads

Associated Press

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Carnival festivities in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo will be held in late April rather than the final weekend of February, as the number of coronavirus cases in Brazil spikes and the omicron variant spreads across the country. The decision followed a video call between Rio’s Mayor Eduardo Paes and his Sao Paulo counterpart Ricardo Nunes, their respective health secretaries and each city’s league of samba schools that put on the parade. The parade through Rio’s Sambadrome is a major tourist draw for Rio and the central fixture of the city’s pre-Lenten party. It draws tens of thousands of spectators in its bleachers and tens of millions watch from home.