2019 Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival.Photo: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images
Nearly eight months after Coachella and Stagecoach was postponed for a second time, Riverside County health officials have canceled the festivals indefinitely.
Kaiser said that the cancellation is a direct result of thenovel coronavirus(COVID-19) pandemic and concerns about large gatherings.
“If COVID-19 were detected at these festivals, the scope and number of attendees and the nature of the venue would make it infeasible, if not impossible, to track those who may be placed at risk,” the order said.
2015 Stagecoach Country Music Festival.Kevin Winter/Getty Images
The annual festivals were originally scheduled for April 2020, but because of the pandemic werepostponed to October.
In June, however, Kaiser announced that the festivals would be postponed once again.
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Goldenvoice, which puts on the festivals, did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment on the cancellation Friday.
Last June, Goldenvoice told PEOPLE that it had “every intention” of putting on the festivals in 2021.
California is currently leading the U.S. in COVID-19 cases withmore than 3.2 million, according to data from theNew York Times. Riverside County has had 271,910 COVID-19 cases, according topublic health data. ICU bed availability in the Southern California region remains at zero percent.
Nationwide, there have been more than 25.8 million cases of the contagious respiratory virus, and at least 434,783 people have died from COVID-19.
As information about thecoronavirus pandemicrapidly changes, PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from theCDC,WHOandlocal public health departments.PEOPLE has partnered with GoFundMeto raise money for the COVID-19 Relief Fund, a GoFundMe.org fundraiser to support everything from frontline responders to families in need, as well as organizations helping communities. For more information or to donate, clickhere.
source: people.com
