Emergency COVID-19 measures lead to mass Miami Music Week cancellationsHNKC 180324 GETLOST Mia 2539

Emergency COVID-19 measures lead to mass Miami Music Week cancellations

On Wednesday, March 11, President Trump announced a 30-day travel ban would be put in place for foreign nationals from the EU’s Schengen Zone in as a way to mitigate the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. That same night, Miami mayor Carlos Gimenez declared a State of Emergency in the city. Now, as of Thursday afternoon at 2pm, Miami Music Week looks to be cancelled amid new event guidelines imposed by the mayor and city officials.

The cancellations began rolling in on Thursday morning, March 12. LIV Miami co-owner Dave Grutman announced that the superclub would be suspending operations indefinitely while containment efforts persisted accross the city, while Story has also opted to cease operations. Miami Beach manager Jimmy Morales also put a hold on gatherings of 250 or more for the next 30 days, effectively ending the city’s “spring break” activities.

Miami has undergone unprecedented losses in its events space as a result of the outbreak, beginning with the cancellation of Ultra Music Festival and Calle Ocho earlier in March. The Winter Music Conference, and Damian Lazarus’ annual Get Lost party followed. Most other parties during the week, whose capacities exceed the new limits in place, are expected to reveal their cancellations in the coming days.

In the meantime, the public is encouraged to stay calm and continue to unify in efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19, which has been classified as a global pandemic by the World Health Organization. The virus—which originated in Wuhan, China—doesn’t pose a direct threat to the demographic generally attending music events and other gatherings, but can still be spread to more vulnerable parts of the population (the elderly and those that are immunocompromised); thus, it’s important to maintain measures for social distancing, and hygiene practices like washing hands and disinfecting surfaces.

As of writing, global COVID-19 cases are at 134,511, with 4,970 deaths and 68,925 full recoveries—according to the World Health Organization. China, Taiwan, Singapore, and others have already been able to contain the outbreaks, for the most part. More tracking information can be found here.

Photo credit: Khris Cowley for Here&Now

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