(CelebrityAccess) – The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recommended that all gatherings of more than 50 people be called off for the next eight weeks in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a statement issued yesterday (March 15), the agency said:
“…CDC, in accordance with its guidance for large events and mass gatherings, recommends that for the next 8 weeks, organizers (whether groups or individuals) cancel or postpone in-person events that consist of 50 people or more throughout the United States.
“Events of any size should only be continued if they can be carried out with adherence to guidelines for protecting vulnerable populations, hand hygiene, and social distancing. When feasible, organizers could modify events to be virtual.”
Included in the CDC’s definition of large events and mass gatherings are conferences, festivals, parades, concerts, sporting events, weddings, and other types of assemblies.
The CDC says this recommendation has been made “in an attempt to reduce introduction of the virus into new communities and to slow the spread of infection in communities already affected by the virus.”
The recommendation arrives after numerous high-profile, large-scale music events, festivals, and tours have already been canceled or postponed across the globe due to growing concerns over coronavirus.
The first dominos to fall were major festivals including South by Southwest and Coachella, though countless others have since been impacted.
According to the Guardian, a total of 3,500 cases of coronavirus have been reported in the US, with the virus causing at least 57 deaths so far.
