Premature to assume coronavirus scare will lead to Cannes Film Festival's cancellation, says spokesperson

It is “premature” to assume that the coronavirus scare will lead to the cancellation of the 2020 Cannes Festival Festival, a spokesperson of the film gala has said. Her remarks came in the wake of the Cannes region reporting its first coronavirus case. [caption id=“attachment_6478671” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Poster of Cannes Film Festival 2019 featuring Agnes Varda. Image from Twitter @CriticalDivide[/caption] “The Festival de Cannes is monitoring carefully the developments and the latest guidelines provided by the local, national and international authorities regarding the coronavirus, and is in direct link with the Alpes-Maritimes’ administrative office, the official said. “As of today, it is still premature to express assumptions on an event scheduled in two months and a half,” she added. The spokeswoman further said that festival will be ready to “take all the necessary measures, aiming at ensuring the protection of all attendees and preserving their health during the event in Cannes”. The deadly virus epidemic which broke out in China has so far claimed the lives of 2,835 people while the number of confirmed cases climbed to 79,251, Chinese health officials said on Saturday. The virus has also spread across the world, with a rising number of cases reported in more than 50 countries and territories. The 2020 Cannes Film Festival will take place from 12 to 23 May.