Chinese New Year event canceled for ‘public health concerns’

The Confucius Institute’s 2020 Chinese New Year Showcase, scheduled for Friday evening at the Missouri Theatre, was canceled amid health concerns tied to a new virus originating in China.

“Some of the organizers had some recent public health concerns,” said Sang Kim, the MU Confucius Institute director. “They just wanted to make sure that everyone is going to be safe,” he said. China has struggled for more than a month to try to contain the outbreak of the new coronavirus, which originated in the Hubei province and its provincial capital, Wuhan. More than a dozen countries have reported cases of the virus. The decision to cancel the program comes as Delta Air Lines and American Airlines said Friday that they are withholding all flights between China and the U.S. On Thursday, the World Health Organization classified the coronavirus as a global emergency, according to reporting by the Associated Press. […]

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