***MCD have released an updated statement about upcoming events. Read the full statement here.***

With the spread of Covid-19 dominating headlines and leading to the cancellation of major gatherings like the St. Patrick's Day Parade, SXSW and Coachella, there's a wave of concern in the air about upcoming concerts and the festival season on the horizon.

According to a statement MCD, Ireland's biggest concert promoters, issued to entertainment.ie, "all shows and events are going ahead as planned". MCD are responsible for some of the nation's biggest shows and festivals, such as Longitude.

The situation could change at any moment and MCD are closely monitoring expert advice. They said: "Like all sectors of the Irish business community and the wider general public throughout Ireland, we are continuing to monitor and implement the recommendations of the Government’s Department of Health and HSE (Health Service Executive)."

So far, there have been 24 confirmed cases in the Republic of Ireland and 12 in Northern Ireland. Three new cases in the Republic were confirmed just this morning. The country is still in what is called the 'containment phase', according to Department of Health Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Tony Holohan. This stage is about identifying all cases and containing the spread of the virus. Assuming a rise in the number of cases, this will be followed by what is called the 'delay stage', which will focus on slowing the pace of the spread of the illness, as well as limiting it to the greatest extent possible. It is interesting that Dr. Holohan expressed the concern that if stricter measures were enforced too soon, there is a likelihood that the compliance rate with hygiene measures would reduce – causing a further acceleration in the number of conformed cases.

Among the major policy objectives is to manage the spread so that, to the greatest extent possible, health services will not become overwhelmed in their efforts to deal with confirmed cases.