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Cirque du Soleil cancels shows in China over coronavirus
MONTREAL, Jan 24, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – The iconic Canadian acrobatic troupe
Cirque du Soleil announced Thursday that its shows in Hangzhou, China is
canceled due to concerns over a coronavirus outbreak in the country.
The call was made in response to Chinese officials’ requests to close all
indoor activities with 100 or more people in attendance in order to contain
the outbreak, the company said in a statement.
“Right now, we all have the responsibility to step up, and to do
preventive activities. We are going to keep leading in this effort by putting
people’s health and safety as our top priority,” Cirque du Soleil head Daniel
Lamarre said in the statement.
“The Land of Fantasy,” which opened last year, is Cirque du Soleil’s first
resident show in China
Hangzhou, in the eastern province of Zhejiang, is about 700 kilometers
(430 miles) from the city of Wuhan, where the SARS-like virus emerged at a
seafood and animal market in December.
China has confirmed 830 cases of the infection with 25 deaths and has
implemented an effective quarantine of some 20 million people in multiple
cities ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday.
Several other countries, including Thailand and the United States, have
reported confirmed cases, though the World Health Organization on Thursday
stopped short of declaring a so-called a public health emergency of
international concern.
BSS/AFP/MSY/0905 hrs