ChannelFireball has cancelled MagicFest Turin due to the rising number of confirmed cases of the new coronavirus in Italy.
“We have been monitoring the situation in Italy closely,” ChannelFireball said. “Out of an abundance of caution, we are cancelling MagicFest Turin.”
“We regret any disappointment this may cause,” they continued, “and are actively exploring different dates and cities in Europe for rescheduling this event. If you have already registered for events or packages at MagicFest Turin, those purchases will be automatically refunded.”
MagicFest and Grand Prix Turin (Modern) was scheduled to take place on April 3-5, 2020 in Turin, Italy. Italy currently has 655 confirmed cases of new coronavirus, called covid-19, as of this writing—the third most in the world after South Korea (1,766) and China (78,600). The disease is related to two previous cornaviruses that have caused outbreaks over the last few decades, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), but appears to be more easily transmissible.
For now, MagicFest and Grand Prix Lyon (Standard) will still be held on March 6-8 in Lyon, France. France has 38 confirmed cases of the new coronavirus.
“Based on current information, we believe it is safe to proceed with the event,” ChannelFireball said. They will be taking various precautions to help maintain a healthy event space, including training staff on preventative measures, providing hand sanitizers, cleaning high-usage touchpoints, and discouraging behavior like handshakes that can contribute to transmitting disease.