Met Gala Postponed Over Coronavirus Concerns: Reports

Upper East Side NY

16 March, 2020

5:05 PM

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UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — The rich and famous titans of the fashion industry are calling off their biggest party of the year due to safety concerns presented by the outbreak of coronavirus in New York City. The Metropolitan Museum of Art is postponing its annual Met Gala fundraiser — held on the first Monday of May each year — in accordance with recommendations made by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to cancel all events with more than 50 people, Vogue first reported. The Met announced it would close its New York City museums last week, but made no mention of the annual gala. The gala, attended by the biggest names in fashion and entertainment, raises money each year for the museum's annual Costume Institute exhibit. Most of the funding for the Costume Institute's exhibit is raised from ticket sales to the gala. Fashionable celebrities, and the uber-wealthy who want to be seen with them, flock to the museum to be seen wearing extravagant outfits. Individual tickets for the event sell for $30,000 and a table goes for $275,000. In the end, the fashion industry did not prove more resilient that Broadway, the NBA, the NHL or the NCAA tournament, which all canceled or postponed shows in the prior weeks. Closures of New York City bars, restaurants, movie theaters and gyms were even announced before the gala's postponement as the city encourages residents to practice responsible social distancing. The number of confirmed cases of the new coronavirus increased to 463 Monday morning, according to lawmakers. There are now 950 confirmed COVID-19 cases in New York state, 221 of which were newly announced, and seven deaths statewide, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced. Read the full Vogue report here.