South by Southwest cancelled: Major US festival called off amid coronavirus outbreak

One of the US’s biggest arts and technology festivals has been cancelled amid the outbreak of coronavirus.

South by Southwest (SXSW) had been scheduled to take place in Austin, Texas, from March 13 until March 22.

However, officials called off the major event on Friday, declaring a “local disaster” in the city.

Austin Mayor Steve Adler told reporters: "I've gone ahead and declared a local disaster in the city, and associated with that have issued an order that effectively cancels South by Southwest this year.”

The decision comes just two days after public health officials said the event would take place as planned, despite a string of high-profile dropouts and widespread calls for its cancellation.

Twitter was the first big name to drop out of the festival, followed by Netflix, TikTok, Facebook and Intel.

More than 50,000 people had signed a petition seeking to get it cancelled.

It comes as the US death toll from the Covid-19 disease climbed to 14, with all but one victim in Washington state.

The number of confirmed cases has surged to more than 200 nationwide, scattered across at least 18 states, including at least six in Texas.