Tribeca Film Festival Postponed amid Coronavirus Outbreak; No New Date Announced

The 2020 Tribeca Film Festival will no longer occur in April amid the coronavirus outbreak.

On Thursday, a day after the COVID-19 coronavirus was declared a global pandemic, the event announced the postponement. No new dates have been announced.

"We founded the Tribeca Film Festival as a way to heal our community after the devastation of the 9/11 attacks in 2001. We were determined to overcome our fear and anxiety by joining together. It is in our DNA to march forward while caring about our community," Jane Rosenthal, co-founder and CEO of Tribeca Enterprises, said in a statement. "We have made the difficult decision to postpone the 19th Tribeca Film Festival (April 15-26) based on the announcement by Gov. Andrew Cuomo that events of 500 people or more are banned due to the spread of the novel coronavirus. We are committed to ensuring the health and safety of the public while also supporting our friends, filmmakers and storytellers who look to Tribeca as a platform to showcase their work to audiences. We will be back to you shortly with our plans."

On Thursday, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced in a press conference that no gatherings of more than 500 people will be allowed, excepting schools, hospitals, mass transit, and nursing homes. That ban will be effective beginning 5:00 p.m. March 13.

Shortly after the announcement, The Broadway League, the national trade association for the Broadway industry, said Broadway will go dark immediately, with plans to reopen the week of April 13.

The Tribeca Film Festival was set to host premieres of films starring Hugh Jackman, Elisabeth Moss and Pete Davidson. According to Variety, around 150,000 people were expected to attend the event.

Recently, the NBA decided to suspend the rest of its current season after a player on the Utah Jazz team tested positive.

Festivals including SXSW Film Festival and Ultra music festival in Miami have also been canceled, while the Coachella Music Festival decided to postpone until October.

There are 1,323 reported cases in the U.S., with 38 deaths to date. Worldwide, the virus has impacted over 127,000 people and caused 4,718 deaths.