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Taiwan cancels international performances due to coronavirus

The Ministry of Culture is postponing all international performances for March

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The Ministry of Culture is putting performances on hold. (NSO photo)

The Ministry of Culture is putting performances on hold. (NSO photo)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of Culture has canceled all international performances and the National Concert Hall (NCH) is closed for disinfection from today (March 6) due to coronavirus fears.

The Ministry of Culture announced the cancellation of all upcoming NSO events due to an Australian musician from the NSO contracting COVID-19. Additionally, he attended a press conference on Feb. 26 and as a result the reporters who attended have been quarantined.

According to the Ministry of Culture press release, NCH will close and be disinfected immediately. Re-opening and the disinfection schedule will be announced at a later date by National Performing Arts Center (NPAC) Chairman Ju Tzong-ching (朱宗慶).

To lower the risk of COVID-19 infection, international performances will be canceled. Performers from epidemic hotspots will also not be invited.

Furthermore, the Ministry of Culture said tickets for events will be refunded if the ticket holder’s temperature is over 37.5 Celsius.

Ministry of Culture Minister Chen Li-chiun (鄭麗君) is proposing a NT$15 billion budget for the arts and culture industry to deal with difficulties brought about by the epidemic. She added NT$11 billion is for the current emergency situation, while NT$4 billion is earmarked for future projects.