Festival and men’s group fall victim
A popular Perth youth music festival and a local mental health charity are the latest among a list of enterprises to become casualties of the coronavirus pandemic.
The historic Perform in Perth festival has been cancelled midway through after fears it would increase “the likelihood of spreading COVID-19”.
The 96th fortnight-long event kicked off last week and saw youngsters from Tayside schools compete in a series of music classes.
It was due to relaunch at Perth Concert Hall yesterday (March 16).
However, in light of the escalating coronavirus pandemic, organisers issued a statement ahead of the start of week two.
A spokesperson for the event said: “After a very successful first week, we have decided, on medical advice, not to go ahead with the second week’s competitions, due to the risks to the general public of performers from a wide area and from a large number of schools coming together and increasing the likelihood of spreading COVID-19 further in the community.
“We know how much work our performers have put into preparing for the festival and also commend the efforts of all our volunteers and young ambassadors.”
Mental health charity and peer support group Andy’s Man Club in Perth will be holding no meetings for the next two weeks.
The other 27 Andy’s Man Club groups in the UK will also close during this period.
A statement released on Friday, March 13 said: “We have been working around the clock to work out the best possible solutions.
“We have now made a informative decision to close all groups nationally.
“From day one we have been a one in all in organisation and with this in mind we don’t want any confusion of where is open and where isn’t as this could be more detrimental to our current or new users.
“We plan to shut for the next three Mondays (two weeks) and will then make a call.
“Closed groups are to be utilised and every Monday questions will be posted in a format to still help offload.
“We will look to do some live videos to help give another platform but at this stage we feel this is the best course of action for everyone involved.
“We have a wide demographic of users and we believe it’s not fair segregating those groups and remain with our one in all in mentality.
“It’s always been about that one man and it always will be. So we have put the wellbeing of all at the forefront of this decision.”
Meanwhile, Perth Playhouse has introduced an “empty seat break” between movie-goers as a precaution.
A spokesperson for the cinema said: “Your safety and comfort is of paramount importance, and here at Perth Playhouse we are implementing special protocols to ensure you have a safe experience with us.
“Should you be visiting as a couple or part of a group who wishes to sit beside each other without allowing for this break, you are of course welcome to do so.
“Should you have any questions or concerns, please contact our box office on 01738 623126.”
A number of events with mass gatherings in Perth and Kinross are expected to be cancelled in the coming weeks in order to prevent further spread of the pandemic virus.
For more information go to www.gov.scot/coronaviruscovid-19/