Corona virus threatens culture ... canceled international book fairs and closed Louvre Museum

In a new episode of the growing repercussions of the Corona virus around the world, the French Publishers Association said that the 40th annual Paris Book Fair - which was supposed to take place later this March - will be canceled due to the measures taken by the French government to contain the spread of the epidemic.

"After the French government decided to ban any gathering of more than five thousand people in a closed place, we regret the decision to cancel the 2020 edition of the Paris Book Fair," the union statement added.

In conjunction with the cancellation of the Paris exhibition, a report for the electronic magazine "New Publishing Standard" stated that most American publishers and exhibitors heading to the London Book Fair withdrew, and the fate of the British exhibition became in the wind.

The London Book Fair attracts 25,000 participants from all over the world, to participate in a closed environment for three days, in a city of eight million people, and then leave for their countries after the exhibition ends.

The reasons for cancellation and withdrawal are not difficult to understand given the increasing incidence of HIV infection globally.

Meanwhile, the members of the French Louvre Museum - the number of nearly three hundred employees of the museum, which is the most visited in the world - voted not to open it on Sunday, due to the prevention and public health measures announced by the French government, and the closure continued today, Monday.

"The Louvre is a closed place that welcomes more than five thousand people a day," union official Christian Gallani told AFP news agency, adding that "there is a real concern from the staff."

While the administration held talks with museum staff - which includes the Mona Lisa painting of Italian artist Leonardo Da Vinci - to discuss concerns about the Corona virus, a banner in multiple languages ​​was placed on the museum's main entrance saying, "Postpone the opening of the Louvre today. We will inform you of a possible opening date as soon as possible." Thanks for your understanding, "according to Reuters.

A week ago, Italy announced the postponement of the Bologna children's book fair until next May. Italy is the largest European country to register cases of HIV infection, and the Italian authorities have announced quarantine in different parts of the country.

Major book fairs are expected to be held in Turkey, Poland and Belgium in the coming period, amid ongoing controversy over their fate, costs of possible postponement, losses of publishers and readers' concerns.

The Taiwan International Book Fair - which is held regularly in early February of each year - was the first victim of the spread of Corona virus infection, and it was decided to postpone the largest literary event in the country to next May, and the exhibition hosted more than half a million visitors last year.