Coachella Organisers Postpone Music Festival Amid Coronavirus Outbreak

Public health officer for Riverside County, California, Dr. Cameron Kaiser, is reported to have ordered the cancellation of the festival along with country music festival Stagecoach, saying that, “This decision was not taken lightly or without consideration of many factors.” Dr Kaiser added that, “No doubt it will impact many people, but my top priority is to protect the health of the entire community.”

A host of African talents including DJ Black Coffee, Princess Nokia, Seun Kuti, Sampa the Greatand several others, were set to hit the stage at was is arguably the biggest music festival of the year. Headliners include American rock band Rage Against the Machine, Travis Scott and Frank Ocean.

The rise in the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 around the world will continue to result in the postponement or cancellation of any events set to draw in large crowds.

Last week, the NBA postponed the inaugural Basketball Africa League (BAL) which was set to kick off this month, again due to health concerns around the coronavirus outbreak.

While the global number of coronavirus cases has risen to 115 000 with over 4000 deaths. Read about the 10 African countries affected by the outbreak thus far as well as our opinion piece on how the West’s response to Africa’s low coronavirus presence is exposing their dangerous obsession with stereotypes about the continent.