Chinese New Year festivities in Joburg postponed as a precaution after coronavirus outbreak

29 January 2020 - 14:35
By IAVAN PIJOOS
Visitors wear protective masks to guard against coronavirus as they tour the grounds of the Temple of Heaven on January 27 2020 in Beijing, China.
Image: Kevin Frayer/Getty Images Visitors wear protective masks to guard against coronavirus as they tour the grounds of the Temple of Heaven on January 27 2020 in Beijing, China.

The planned Chinese New Year festivities in Cyrildene, Johannesburg, on Saturday have been postponed.

“We just want to take the precaution for health and safety, because of the coronavirus overseas [in Wuhan]. We don’t want to do large gatherings as a precaution for health,” said Paulette Leong from the Chinese Association.

Leong said there had been no new date set as yet.

According to the Chinese zodiac, it’s a year of the rat.

Saturday marked the start of a seven-day holiday for those celebrating in China.