The annual event was set to take place April 25 in Washington, with Kenan Thompson hosting.
This year's White House Correspondents' Dinner has been postponed due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus outbreak.
"The White House Correspondents’ Association regrets to announce that it is unable to go ahead with its 2020 dinner on April 25. We will get back to you soon with our alternative date. Thanks for your support," the WHCA tweeted Sunday.
The annual dinner — a non-partisan event that supports the work of the WHCA to protect the role of independent news media coverage of the president — was set to take place April 25 in Washington with longtime Saturday Night Live castmember Kenan Thompson hosting. Hasan Minhaj, the Peabody award-winning host of Netflix’s Patriot Act With Hasan Minhaj, was slated to return to the dinner as featured entertainer.
The coronavirus — which originated in Wuhan, China, and causes the COVID-19 disease — started spreading earlier this year and has now affected over 274,700 people globally with more than 11,300 deaths to date. Over 90,000 people have recovered from the illness. Italy, South Korea and Iran are among the countries that have seen an aggressive spread.
Both California and New York City declared a state of emergency to deal with the health crisis.
On Thursday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a statewide "Safer at Home" instruction for individuals to remain in their homes unless conducting essential business such as grocery shopping, obtaining medical supplies or exercising.
Additional events that have been cancelled so far because of the health crisis include SXSW and the Game Developers Conference. Additionally, the premiere of the 25th James Bond film, No Time to Die, has been pushed back.
