'Amazing Race' production halts, BTS, Green Day, cancel shows amid coronavirus concerns
TV production and concerts are falling victim to the coronavirus.
CBS has halted the filming of an upcoming season of “The Amazing Race,” its reality competition in which pairs sprint around the globe. Variety was the first to report the news.
"Due to increased concerns and uncertainty regarding the coronavirus around the world, CBS and the producers of ‘The Amazing Race’ have taken the precautionary measure of temporarily suspending production on the 33rd season of the series,” CBS said in a statement Friday. “All contestants and production staff are in the process of returning home."
“At this time, no Racers or anyone on the production team travelling with them have contracted the virus, or shown symptoms, and we are not aware of anyone being exposed to it," the statement continues. "Out of an abundance of caution, everyone involved in the show will continue to be monitored when they return home. The health and well-being of the Racers and the production team are our top priorities.”
Before production paused, the Racers had traveled to England and Scotland, and three episodes had been shot. A restart date for the 33rd season has not yet been determined, but an already completed 32nd season is expected to air later this year.
BTS and Green Day have also cancelled their upcoming concert dates in Asia amid coronavirus concerns.
The Korean pop group was scheduled to kick off their “BTS Map of the Soul Tour” on April 11 in Seoul, South Korea.
“We regret to announce that the BTS MAP OF THE SOUL TOUR ... has been cancelled,” the band’s agency Big Hit Entertainment said in a statement.
The management agency said the COVID-19 outbreak in South Korea, which has more than 2,000 cases so far, made it impossible to predict the scale of the outbreak by April.
The seven-member boy band was scheduled to perform April 11-12 and April 18-19 at Seoul’s Olympic Stadium. The agency said it had to consider the health and safety of the artists, the production crews and the more than 200,000 concertgoers expected.
Green Day followed suit as they announced on social media Friday that they're nixing their tour dates in Asia.
More: The coronavirus has not yet reached pandemic levels, health official says
"We have unfortunately made the difficult decision to postpone our upcoming shows in Asia due to the health + travel concerns with coronavirus," the band wrote in a statement posted to Twitter and Instagram. "We know it sucks, as we were looking forward to seeing you all, but hold on to your tickets we’ll be announcing the new dates very soon."
Green Day was scheduled to perform in Thailand, South Korea, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Japan and Taiwan starting in March as part of their Hella Mega Tour.
A post shared by Green Day (@greenday) on Feb 27, 2020 at 9:00pm PST
Green Day and BTS weren't the only ones to cancel stops in Asia – the National Symphony Orchestra canceled the five remaining performances in Japan of its Asian tour.
The orchestra originally was to play eight concerts in its first international tour with music director Gianandrea Noseda. On Feb. 4, the NSO called off shows in Beijing on March 13 and 14 and one in Shanghai on March 17.
In an announcement Thursday night, the orchestra scrapped performances from March 6-11 in Fukui, Sakai, Hiroshima and Tokyo. It cited a recommendation from Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that major cultural events be canceled for the next two weeks.
“After multiple consultations with officials at U.S. government agencies and recommendations from the Japanese government, it became clear that these evolving circumstances are beyond our control,” NSO executive director Gary Ginstling said in a statement.
The Boston Symphony Orchestra also canceled an Asian tour from Feb. 6-16 that had included performances in Seoul, South Korea; Taipei, Taiwan; Shanghai and Hong Kong.
The coronavirus has already claimed the lives of of 2,858 people globally as of Thursday night. There are more than 83,370 confirmed cases around the world – including Nigeria's report of the first infection in sub-Saharan Africa, an Italian citizen who became ill on a business trip to Lagos.
Contributing: The Associated Press, John Bacon, Erin Jensen and Gary Levin
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Coronavirus concerns: BTS, Green Day cancel shows, 'Race' halts
