NSO Announcement Regarding Brett Dean

NSO Announcement Regarding Brett Dean

National Symphony Orchestra (NSO)(Taiwan Philharmonic) Artist-In-Residence Brett Dean was diagnosed with COVID-19 March 5th upon his return to Australia from Taiwan, and he is currently receiving treatment at a hospital in Australia. Before his arrival in Taiwan, Dean had had a cough for days, and on Feb 27th sought medical attention at a clinic, where he was assessed as suffering only from mild bronchitis. He had no fever, but voluntarily sought further treatment upon his return home, whereupon he was tested for and found to have the novel coronavirus infection.

We were alerted last night, March 5th, of Dean's diagnosis, and are actively working with the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control to trace his contacts and the itinerary of his visit. Dean was in Taiwan with NSO from Feb. 23rd to March 2nd, performing twice with the orchestra, at the National Concert Hall on February 28th and at the National Recital Hall on March 1st. While no NSO staff are showing any symptoms of infection at this time, many of us are now under home quarantine. Others with whom Dean had close contact during his time here have been directly contacted as well.

All upcoming NSO performances and other public activities are cancelled through March 14th, including the concerts on March 7th, 8th, and 14th. All tickets of affected concerts will be fully refunded. The National Concert Hall itself is closed today, March 6th, for a thorough disinfection of the entire building.

NSO and the National Performing Arts Center have taken a number of measures to minimize the risk of infection spreading at our events. In addition to routine sanitization of public areas of the concert hall (elevators, bathrooms, etc.), on Jan 27th we instituted daily temperature testing of all staff, and of all concert guests at performances since that date. For international invited artists, we follow governmental epidemic prevention protocols, including restrictions on artists' recent travel. Unfortunately although Dean's prior recent travel had not included any epidemic warning areas, he still seems to have been exposed, though asymptomatic, prior to his arrival in Taiwan.

When the National Concert Hall reopens, as an additional precaution, attendance at all events will be limited so that seating can be assigned with additional spacing between guests.

We wish Brett a speedy recovery.