Sporting events and music gigs have been cancelled across the country over concerns of the coronavirus.
Friday morning saw mass cancellations announced following the UK Government’s advice that gatherings of more than 500 people should be postponed from next week.
Dozens of organisations and events have already changed their plans in the last few weeks, after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the coronavirus a pandemic.
There have now been 60 positive cases of Covid-19 confirmed in Scotland, with 798 across the UK.
Sports
- All matches in Scotland’s Premiership, Championship, League One and League Two have been cancelled until further notice. It means this Sunday’s clash between Rangers and Celtic at Ibrox is off, and likely means the Scottish Cup semi-finals featuring Hearts vs Hibernian and Aberdeen vs Celtic on the weekend of April 11/12 are in serious doubt
- All professional football in England is to be suspended until April 3 at the earliest. This includes all matches in the Championship, League One and League Two, as well as all Academy and youth team fixtures
READ MORE: First coronavirus death in Scotland confirmed
- The Elite Ice Hockey League has also announced all its remaining matches for this season have been cancelled
- Tournament organisers have announced Masters at Augusta has been postponed due to the coronavirus
- The Six Nations game between Wales and Scotland on Saturday has been postponed
Education
A number of universities across the UK are taking steps to reduce the number of in-person classes.
- The University of Glasgow has ceased face-to-face teaching effective from Monday, March 16. It comes after they made the decision that exams scheduled for April and May would not be undertaken in exam halls
- The University of the West of Scotland has closed all its campuses from Monday March 16
- Glasgow Caledonian University has closed its campus from Monday March 16 due to a student self-isolating
- Aberdeen University suspended all face to face teaching from 6pm on Friday
- All classes at Edinburgh University have been cancelled, and exams are to take place at home
- All schools in Shetland are to be closed for a week on Monday amid coronavirus fears, it has been confirmed. The council said it made the move because of "operational and resilience reasons"
- All school trips in Scotland have been cancelled.
- A secondary school in South Lanarkshire, Lanark Grammar School, has been closed after a case of the coronavirus was recorded
- The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow has decided to postpone, cancel or review delivery of the majority of their training and assessment activity from Monday 16 March 2020 for the foreseeable future
Politics
- The Scottish Green Party has cancelled its spring conference this year
- The Scottish Conservatives have also postponed their spring conference
- The SNP has also cancelled its spring conference, which had been due to take place on Saturday 13 June in Aviemore Gatherings of the National Assembly and Conference have also been cancelled for the "foreseeable future"
Arts events
- Glasgow Short Film Festival has been postponed. Organisers say they feel ‘tremendously heartbroken’ at the decision, but say they felt obliged to take responsibility for their audiences and guests despite their event not falling within the government restrictions. Tickets and passes will be refunded in full
READ MORE: Coronavirus is a blow to Indyref2 and changes the Scottish political landscape
- Aye Write festival has now been cancelled after bosses said it had become clear they could ‘no longer deliver anything like the festival we had promised’.
- The Visit Scotland Expo in Aberdeen, which was due to take place on April 1, has been cancelled due to a ‘significant number of cancellations’
Music
- Rock band The Who have cancelled their gig at Glasgow’s SSE Hydro arena on March 23. They’ve decided to postpone their entire tour
- Also at the Hydro, the annual Country to Country event has been cancelled. Performers who were due to perform include Luke Combs, Eric Church, Darius Rocker and The Shires.
- Radio 1’s Big Weekend in Dundee has been cancelled. It was due to take place on May 22-24
- Evanescence and Within Temptation at The SSE Hydro on April 28 has been cancelled. "Due to the rapidly evolving nature of current events Evanescence and Within Temptation are forced to postpone their massive co-headline European tour until later this year."
Health
- In Ayrshire, people with respiratory symptoms are being asked not to visit friends and relatives who are residing in care homes. NHS Ayrshire and Arran have taken the move to “protect our most vulnerable patients”.
Outdoor events
- The Glasgow Kiltwalk, due to take place on April 26, has been postponed.
Around the world
- Disneyland Paris is preparing to close its gates for the rest of the month. Disney Hotels will remain open to give guests the ability to make necessary travel arrangements.
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