SXSW Festival Officially Cancelled Due to Coronavirus Concerns

After hearing the annual Austin festival would not be cancelled, it was announced today that the event was cancelled on the direction of Austin Public Health.

As reported by the Austin Chronicle, the city proclaimed a local disaster during a City Hall conference today, resulting in the South by Southwest festival officially being canceled. Dr. Mark Escott, Interim Health Authority stated,

The COVID-19 threat is growing across the United States, and that threat is growing locally. Now is not the time to panic. Now is the time to prepare.

Here is the currently on-going City Hall conference: