Coachella Might Be Rescheduled Due to Coronavirus Concerns

The two-weekend music festival may take place in the Fall as the virus threatens public health.

As the spread of the coronavirus continues to threaten travel plans and eradicate ordinary life, it’s looking like the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival might be next to take the bullet. Several sources have reported that the festival’s event planners are in conversation with artists about rescheduling the three-day mega-concert, originally set to take place on the consecutive weekends of April 10 and 17, to October 9 and 16.

“We’re not ready to pull the trigger on anything, but we want to make sure we can protect the community,” Riverside County’s Director of Public Health Kim Saruwatari said in a statement. “This virus is changing day by day, hour by hour. We’re monitoring it very closely. We’re going to do our best to give advance notice, but it’s a fluid situation, and if we have to make a decision late we’ll do that.”

Coachella’s two-weekend event is expected to draw over 250,000 fans from across the world to the festival’s grounds in Indio, California, making for the ultimate breeding ground for the virus to spread. While the festival’s fate remains unknown, a decision will soon be made as the event’s promoters closely watch how the coronavirus continues to spread over the coming months.

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