The Latest: Virus concerns cancel Olympic cultural event

The Latest on the coronavirus pandemic. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people, but for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death.

TOP OF THE HOUR:

— Olympic organizers cancel cultural event.

— Malaysia's king, queen under quarantine after seven palace staff test positive.

— Sri Lanka president requests international donor agencies to provide debt moratorium.

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TOKYO — Tokyo Olympic organizers announced Thursday that they are canceling a cultural event featuring collaborative performances of kabuki and opera next month due to the spreading of the coronavirus.

The event already had a setback last year after world-famous tenor Placido Domingo withdrew following his sexual harassment allegations.

The cancellation follows Tuesday’s agreement between Tokyo’s Organizing Committee and the International Olympic Committee to postpone the Tokyo Games until the summer of 2021 due to the ongoing global pandemic.

The revised “Tokyo 2020 Nippon Festival” scheduled for April 18, was to feature Japanese kabuki actor Ebizo Ichikawa and opera singers — Italian soprano Anna Pirozi and Uruguayan bass-baritone Erwin Schrott — in a performance aimed at bringing together the east and the west and contrasting the traditional and the modern.

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KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Malaysia's king and queen are under quarantine after seven palace staff members tested positive for COVID-19.

The palace said Thursday that seven staff were hospitalized Tuesday and health authorities were trying to identify the source of the transmission. It said King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah and his wife Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah were tested for the virus, but both were...