Pennsbury Monitors Coronavirus Ahead Of Band's China Trip

FALLSINGTON, PA — Pennsbury School District officials are keeping an eye on the spread of the new coronavirus ahead of a planned trip to China by marching band students this spring.

Pennsbury High School's marching band is set to perform at Disneyland in Shanghai, China, and at China's Great Wall in April. But that theme park is currently closed due to the threat of the new strain of coronavirus, which originated in Wuhan, China.

School officials say no definite decisions have yet been made, but that they're mindful of the situation.

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"School district administrators are closely monitoring the situation in China in light of a planned marching band trip to Shanghai later this spring," said Pennsbury School District spokeswoman Ann Langtry. "We are also in frequent communication with the families involved."

The Pennsbury school board approved the trip for the "Long Orange Line" last year. From April 2-10, the band is scheduled to visit Shanghai, China's largest city, and Beijing, its capital.

Since 2008, Pennsbury's marching band has had the unofficial nickname "The Mickey Mouse Band, after they became the only band to have performed at all five Disney parks — Tokyo, Paris, Hong Kong, Orlando, Florida, and California.

Shanghai Disneyland Park opened in 2016.

More than 8,100 people had been diagnosed with the Wuhan strain of the potentially deadly coronavirus on Thursday. The overwhelming majority of them have been in China, where more than 130 people have died with the virus.