Ultra And Calle Ocho 'Postponed' Over Coronavirus

MIAMI, FL — With the threat of the new coronavirus looming, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez announced Friday the city has asked two of its largest festivals — Ultra Music Festival and Calle Ocho Festival — to postpone their 2020 events later this month.

"We have asked Ultra and Calle Ocho to be postponed," the mayor said. "They have a number of logistical complications with those decisions that may make postponement difficult for this year, but we will be working with them on mitigating factors that impact those events going forward."

The announcement came as the worldwide total of new coronavirus cases for the first time surpassed the 100,000 mark, according to information compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Ultra organizers informed ticket holders "with a heavy heart" they were required by an official directive of the city to postpone the 22nd edition of the event until March 26, 27 and 28 of next year.

"We completely understand how extremely frustrating this is because so many of you are looking forward to coming to Ultra, having already made travel arrangements," organizers said on social media. "This is, however, an unprecedented issue which is not being taken lightly, and we must continue to defer to the authorities for guidance."

The announcement triggered angry replies from some fans. "Start processing the refunds," wrote one person. "2K is not a cheap refund mate, some of us got real festivals to go to now."

Another person called the decision "dumb" and said many people have non-refundable plane tickets and hotel reservations with only two weeks to go before the event.

"Everyone is still going to come to Miami and the city, and everyone in it is still going to be at risk," the person penned.

Ultra organizers said they planned to reach out to all ticket purchasers Monday "regarding next steps."

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis confirmed Thursday a total of eight Florida residents have been diagnosed with the new coronavirus but five people were in quarantine and do not pose a public health threat to the state. Don't miss updates about precautions in Florida as they are announced. Sign up for Patch news alerts and newsletters.

As one of the world's best known electronic music festivals, Ultra was expected to bring as many as 165-170,000 mostly young people from some 100 countries to downtown Miami on March 20, 21 and 22.

Billed as America's largest Hispanic street party, the Calle Ocho Festival combines the aroma of croquetas, pork sandwiches and plantains with hip-shaking rhythms over a 20-block stretch of Miami's iconic Little Havana neighborhood.

Over the years, Calle Ocho has featured some of the biggest names in Latin music, including Pitbull, Niki Jam and Maluma. This year's event was set for March 15 with multi-platinum Latin artists Mauricio and Ricky Montaner also known as Mau y Ricky as the headline act.

See also:

• Florida Governor Reports 8 Residents With Coronavirus
• Ultra Music Festival: 'Miami, We're Coming Home'
• Ultra Pulls Out Of Miami Amid Chorus Of Complaints
• Ultra May Return To Bayfront Park
• Ultra Won't Thump In Miami Beach, But Maybe Homestead, Miami

DeSantis said the overall risk to Florida's annual 125 million visitors and residents remains low.

The Miami mayor said the city's decision was based on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance on mass gatherings of 25,000 people or more.

"It says directly off the CDC website that officials may ask you to modify, postpone or cancel large events for the safety and well being of your event staff, participants and the community," the mayor said. "We also are guided by the CDC's determination that says mass gathering attendees are also at risk for infections."

The mayor noted that nearby Miami Beach had not canceled any events thus far but said the city of Hialeah had canceled all of its events for the month of March.

In an email to residents on Friday, Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber said his city was closely monitoring developments concerning the new coronavirus but is not prohibiting any community events or canceling gatherings at this time.

"It would be difficult to go down that road in the absence of informed advice from professionals," Gelber said. "Do we cancel all arena events where large groups of people gather like NBA basketball games or every concert at the Arsht or Fillmore? What about movie theaters and public schools? Do we close down hotels and restaurants, all of which receive tens of thousands of visitors daily?"

Gelber said Miami Beach will take every counter measure offered by health care professionals and emergency management personnel.

"Our decision making must be grounded in health care and emergency management expertise," Gelber said. "Panic should not be part of our playbook."

Updates regarding the new coronavirus in Florida are posted on the Florida Health website. COVID-19 can spread from person to person through small droplets from the nose or mouth, including when someone coughs or sneezes.

These droplets may land on objects and surfaces. Other people may contract the virus by touching these objects or surfaces, then touching their eyes, nose or mouth.

As of Friday, there had been a total of 100,674 confirmed cases of the illness and 3,411 deaths around the world, with the vast majority in Hubei, China, according to Johns Hopkins. A total of 55,753 people have recovered from the illness.