Womad forging ahead amid coronavirus fears

Organisers of the country's annual celebration of world music, art and dance are forging ahead amid coronavirus fears. 

Set up for Womad New Zealand, which is set to bring thousands to New Plymouth's Brooklands Park from March 13-15, began on Monday and is continuing as planned.

In an emailed statement, Taranaki Arts Festival Trust chief executive officer Suzanne Porter said organisers would closely monitor the advice of Ministry of Health (MoH) in the meantime. 

Currently the MoH do not recommend altering arrangements for public events, given the likelihood of a widespread outbreak is low-moderate, she said.

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"We are monitoring the Ministry of Health information about Covid-19 and public safety.

"There is no outbreak of the virus in New Zealand, and Womad 2020 is proceeding as planned. We will continue to monitor the situation."

On Friday, a person in their 60s, who had recently travelled to Iran, became the first, and remains the only, confirmed case in New Zealand.

A number of passengers who sat near the person on a flight to Auckland are in self-isolation and have not yet shown any symptoms of Covid-19.

More than 60 countries now have cases of Covid-19, with the outbreak limiting travel, trade and shipping. The worst affected countries outside of China include South Korea, Italy, Japan, France, Germany and Singapore. 

More than 20 international acts from a number of countries including South Kore, Japan, Brazil, India, Mali, Wales, Jamaica and Findland, are scheduled to play at Womad.

Porter said Womad wasn't the only event proceeding as planned, pointing out last weekend's sold out Splore Festival had gone ahead as planned and the The New Zealand Festival was currently on in Wellington.

The Auckland Arts Festival beginning next week was also going ahead, she said. 

However, the Auckland Arts Festival's outdoor aerial show Place des Agnes has been cancelled because the virus outbreak had affected the shipping of gear needed for the show, which was to be one of main events. 

Porter said Womad organisers were working with local, provincial, and national agencies to ensure a safe event and would continue to monitor the coronavirus situation closely and provide updates as necessary.

"As always, to ensure the wellbeing of any festival attendees, we advise people that if they feel unwell to please stay home."

Taranaki District Health Board (TDHB) chief medical advisor Dr Greg Simmons said a team was closely monitoring the coronavirus situation and liaising with the Ministry of Health (MoH), as well as planning and preparing for any suspected, probable or confirmed cases.

He said TDHB had a number of robust processes in place if a suspected infection presented in hospital, including training on how to identify a case, what to do if one was confirmed, treatment, and how staff could protect themselves and their patients.