The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) suspended Sunday's clash just minutes before its scheduled kick-off at the Serra Dourada stadium in Goiania, reports Xinhua news agency.

 

In a statement, the CBF said the decision was based on a need to "preserve the health of the players". It did not set a new date for the fixture.

 

Goias said tests were conducted on their players, coaching staff and employees last week on Thursday, in line with CBF guidelines.

 

However, an error by the laboratory responsible for handling and processing the samples meant a new round of tests had to be conducted on Friday, for which the results only became known on Sunday afternoon. Goias said eight first-team players were among those to test positive.

 

The 2020 Brazilian Serie A season started on Saturday, three months later than originally planned because of the coronavirus pandemic.

 

Brazil has the second-highest number of coronavirus cases in the world with more than three million confirmed infections and 101,000 deaths.