Coronavirus outbreak: UAE cancels sports events, major concerts

The United Arab Emirates has reportedly cancelled all major concerts and events, including an air transit centre and business hub amid coronavirus outbreak. According to international media reports, more than 1,600 people have been confirmed positive of the deadly virus in the Gulf region. UAE itself has reported 21 cases. 

As per reports, the March 5-6 electronic music Ultra festival at Abu Dhabi's Du Arena and the March 21 K-pop concert Music Bank at Dubai's Coca Coal Arena have been cancelled. Organisers of Ultra, where Major Lazer and DJ Afrojack were to perform reportedly cited travel restrictions imposed by several countries due to the rapid spread of the deadly virus. Furthermore, Dubai's flagship international 'Art Dubai', scheduled for March 25-28, has also been postponed by the organisers. 

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American rapper and producer Russ' concert which was supposed to be held on March 27 in Dubai will also now take place in November. Women's forum and yoga festival in Abu Dhabi and a carnival in Dubai are further cancelled or rescheduled. According to reports, Dubai has also postponed its March boat show until November and Abu Dhabi, on the other hand, postponed the ITU World Triathlon event this month as two riders were diagnosed with coronavirus. 

Confirmed cases surpass 90,000 globally

Leaders around the world have reportedly rolled out bans on big gatherings and stricter travel restrictions as the confirmed cases around the globe surpassed 90,000. The majority of the infections in Gulf countries have been linked to visits to Iran or involve people who have come into contact with people who had been there. Tehran has reportedly ordered schools to shut and extended the closure of universities and ban on concerts and sports events for a week.

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Azerbaijan also closed its border with Iran for two weeks to prevent the spread of coronavirus. The Azerbaijan authorities confirmed two cases who had travelled to Iran. On the other hand, Qatar has also cancelled a defence exhibition and Bahrain has postponed two oil and gas conferenced that had been scheduled to take place this month. 

First detected in the city of Wuhan, in Hubei Province of China, the virus outbreak has now spread across more than 60 countries since December 2019. The total number of confirmed cases within China has reportedly hit 80,152 and more than 90,000 worldwide. According to reports, the death toll in China has also surpassed 2,900 and the National Health Commission also confirmed more than 126 new cases.

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