Rio de Janeiro braces for risk of COVID-19 during Carnival, in addition to the hundreds of STD's.

RIO DE JANEIRO, Feb 12 - Preparing for Rio de Janeiro's Carnival, when well over 1 million visitors pour into the "Marvelous City" for round-the-clock revelry, is always a daunting task for city officials.

But this year, the job is just a little bit tougher thanks to the new coronavirus that had spread to some 25 countries with the epicentre of the outbreak in Wuhan, China.

In the days leading up to Carnival, which falls Feb. 21 to Feb. 26 this year, Rio officials have been setting up a "city contingency plan," and training health workers in the metropolis of nearly 7 million people how to identify and contain the new threat.

[link to news.trust.org]