Hong Kong Arts Festival (HKAF) organizers called off the February and March performances and events scheduled for the 48th art festival this year amid the novel coronavirus outbreak. 

The festival organizers said it was a hard decision to make, but it was taken out of consideration for the safety of the artists, visitors and staff. Some of the teams are looking forward to postponing part of the performances and shows. 

The cancellations affect over 120 performances, including Young Friends activities, "HKartsFestival@TaiKwun" programming and other events. The "No Limits" project will not be held as scheduled either.

Tisa Ho, executive director of HKAF, said she and her colleagues hope society will recover soon. Further information on the rescheduling of the festival will be announced later. 

Various outdoor group activities across China have been canceled due to the coronavirus. When many people gather or move from one place to another, it makes it harder to contain a viral outbreak, as they can easily cause a rapid spike in the number of infections. There are 49 confirmed patients of coronavirus in Hong Kong so far.