At least 166 COVID-19 cases have been recorded so far at the Copa América ©Getty Images

Another 26 COVID-19 cases linked to the Copa América in Brazil have been reported by the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) over the past four days, taking the total so far at the event to 166.

CONMEBOL said 22,576 tests had been taken during the event, with 0.7 per cent of results returning positive.

The organisation said most of the positive cases were from outsourced workers who were not yet vaccinated.

Seventeen players have tested positive for the virus since the start of the tournament.

The update on case numbers comes prior to the last round of group stage matches at the competition, moved to Brazil on just 12 days notice.

Paraguay are set to play their final Group A match against Uruguay ©Getty Images
Paraguay are set to play their final Group A match against Uruguay ©Getty Images

CONMEBOL pulled the plug on Argentina's co-hosting of the event due to rising COVID-19 cases.

Argentina was initially set to co-stage the 2021 Copa América with Colombia, but the latter was stripped due to security concerns in the country amid protests against the Government.

The decision to move the event to Brazil faced criticism as more than 511,000 people have died of COVID-19 in the nation, which has recorded more than 18 million cases.

Chile admitted earlier this week that some of its players violated COVID-19 protocols by inviting a barber to the team hotel while in the city of Cuiabá in Brazil.

In the final round of matches before the knockout stage, Brazil face Ecuador and Venezuela play Peru in Group B, while Uruguay play Paraguay and Argentina face Bolivia in Group A tomorrow.