Coronavirus

Actions

The Cleveland Orchestra cancels travel plans to Europe, Abu Dhabi amid coronavirus developments

File image: The Cleveland Orchestra.
Posted at 11:19 AM, Mar 09, 2020
and last updated 2020-03-09 11:19:27-04

CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Orchestra announced Monday it’s canceling travel plans to Europe and Abu Dhabi amid growing developments related to the coronavirus (COVID-19.)

The orchestra was scheduled to depart to Europe on March 16 and return from Abu Dhabi on April 5.

In total, this affects seven concerts between March 19 and March 26 in Europe (Linz’s Brucknerhaus, Vienna’s Musikverein and the Philharmonie de Paris,) and four concerts between March 31 and April 4 as part of the Abu Dhabi Festival.

“The health and well-being of our musicians, staff, and patrons are our absolute priority,” said André Gremillet, President & CEO of The Cleveland Orchestra, in a news release. “Ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) news reports have generated questions and concerns for all of us regarding the upcoming tour. We have been closely monitoring the coronavirus (COVID-19) situation, with a focus on gathering facts from the many qualified medical experts available to us both here in Cleveland and around the world. After extended deliberation and based on information from these experts, we have made the decision that The Cleveland Orchestra will not travel to Europe and Abu Dhabi for our previously announced tour this March and April. We are very disappointed we won’t be able to perform due to circumstances out of our control, and we very much appreciate the understanding of everyone involved, especially our audiences and presenting partners for this tour. We are looking at the possibility of rescheduling some of these concerts at a future date.”

In the coming days, alternative plans for The Cleveland Orchestra’s schedule in March will be announced.

Ohio officials said the state still has no confirmed cases of the new coronavirus, but test results are awaited from five people — and officials hope such tests can now be done within the state.

Additional Coronavirus information and resources:

COVID-19/2019 Novel Coronavirus Overview from the CDC:

“2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV/COVID-19) is a virus (more specifically, a coronavirus) identified as the cause of an outbreak of respiratory illness first detected in Wuhan, China. At this time, it’s unclear how easily or sustainably this virus is spreading between people. Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that are common in many different species of animals, including camels, cattle, cats, and bats. Rarely, animal coronaviruses can infect people and then spread between people such as with Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).”

“When person-to-person spread has occurred with MERS and SARS, it is thought to have happened mainly via respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes, similar to how influenza and other respiratory pathogens spread. Spread of MERS and SARS between people has generally occurred between close contacts.”

From News 5 and affiliated news outlets:

News 5's Coronavirus continuing coverage page

How to prepare your family and pets for COVID-19

EPA releases list of approved disinfectants to use against COVID-19

How to protect yourself from coronavirus when flying

Symptoms

The symptoms of coronavirus are fever and lower respiratory tract issues, such as cough and shortness of breath, according to the Cuyahoga County Board of Health.

Travel

Anyone traveling internationally should review plans in advance of their trip, and check the CDC’s COVID-19 Travel Information Page for daily updates and travel alerts.

Click here for the CDC COVID-19 Travel Information Page

Practice Good Hygiene

The CCBH recommends the following good hygiene practices to prevent coronavirus, as well as the flu, colds and other illnesses:

  • Sneeze or cough into the bend of your elbow to keep germs from spreading
  • Regularly wash your hands with soap and water/use alcohol-based hand sanitizer in between
  • Don’t share cups, spoons, forks, etc. with anyone
  • Don’t make food for anyone if you are sick
  • Don’t go to work or school if you are sick
  • Visit a doctor, urgent care or emergency department if you are sick – don’t take chances

Please contact your medical provider with any questions.

Guidance for those with compromised immune systems

Click here for specific guidance from the CCBH for anyone at higher risk for becoming ill.

Additional Resources

Cuyahoga County: See the CCBH page on coronavirus here.

Ohio Department of Health:

Click here for the Ohio Department of Health’s Coronavirus information page.

It is updated daily at 2 p.m. with the current number of confirmed cases, persons under investigation and persons under investigation who tested negative for the disease.

As of Thursday afternoon, there are zero confirmed cases in Ohio, three persons under investigation in Ohio, seven persons who have tested negative for COVID-19, and a total of 255 people who were or are under health supervision since the novel coronavirus was first reported.

More resources from ODH:

Fact sheet
Prevention infographic
Resources and information

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

The CCBH has created this list of coronavirus-related resources from the CDC:

Homepage for COVID-19 materials and information

Fact sheet – Chinese
Fact sheet – English
Fact sheet – Spanish

Guidance for businesses
Guidance for colleges and universities
Guidance for communities and mass gatherings
Guidance for healthcare facilities
Guidance for healthcare professionals
Guidance for people with elevated risk for illness
Guidance for pregnant women
Guidance for risk assessment
Guidance for schools
Guidance for travelers

What you can do to stop the spread of COVID-19 – Chinese
What you can do to stop the spread of COVID-19 – English
What you can do to stop the spread of COVID-19 – Spanish

If you are sick with COVID-19 – Chinese
If you are sick with COVID-19 – English
If you are sick with COVID-19 – Spanish

Preventing spread of COVID-19 at election/polling/voting locations
Prevention and treatment
Symptoms – overview

World Health Organization

Coronavirus information
Mythbusters – the truth about food, packages, pets and other things related to COVID-19

Video – What is COVID-19?
Video – What is my risk of getting COVID-19?
Video – How can I protect myself from COVID-19?