Goa Velha (Goa) [India], Mar 12 : After World Health Orgzation (WHO) escalated Coronavirus outbreak to pandemic status; the team of Ketevan Sacred Music Festival 2020 announced that the festival has been postponed until further notice, in a statement on Thursday.
"In light of the WHO escalating Covid-19 to pandemic status, we deeply regret to announce that our Festival needs to be postponed for now, but will be rescheduled after analyzing the situation at a future date."
"Since the core spirit of our Festival has always been to promote peaceful co-existence, we are keen to follow all the health and travel guidelines stated by the Indian Government to ensure the safety of everyone involved," the statement added.
The statement also expressed thanks to the support from the patrons assuring that a rescheduling of the festival will be done once the crisis subsides. "We'd like to thank all our loyal supporters for donating their time and resources towards our Festival this year. We will definitely celebrate our 2020 Fifth Edition after this crisis passes," the statement added.
The number of people who are COVID-19 positive has gone up to 73, the Union health ministry said on Thursday.
Earlier on Wednesday, WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic and expressed deep concerns.
India has taken several steps to contain the virus, including suspension of all visas to India till April 15, after the WHO declared coronavirus outbreak a pandemic.
( With inputs from ANI )