The 2021 Copa America will go on as scheduled on Sunday after the Brazilian Supreme Court ruled on Thursday.

An urgent application was submitted this week to block the competition from being hosted in Brazil because of the coronavirus pandemic.

But following an emergency session on Thursday, the judges ruled that the country can host the Copa America despite the pandemic

However, the government was ordered to take additional safety measures to protect the lives of thousands of people.

“It falls to (state governors and mayors) to set the appropriate health protocols and ensure they are respected in order to avoid a ‘Copavirus’, with new infections and the emergence of new variants,” wrote Justice Carmen Lucia in her ruling.

The competition was initially scheduled to happen in Colombia and Argentina.

However, Colombia was removed as co-host on 20 May because of domestic civil unrest, before Argentina was stripped of its host status on 30 May due to COVID-19 issues.

Brazil was then awarded the rights to host the competition which will kick off this Sunday.