A business conference that centers on coronavirus has reportedly been cancelled amid fears of the virus being spread

According to The Independent, The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) cancelled a roundtable conference which was meant to take place on Friday.

Also planned to take place was other in-person conferences scheduled between 11 March and 3 April around the US.

The CFR’s “Doing Business Under Coronavirus” conference joins a growing list of cancelled or postponed events in New York state, which holds the largest cluster of cases in the US.

The think tank told The Independent: “Due to the evolving COVID-19 situation, the Council on Foreign Relations, like many other organisations, has suspended all in-person events effectively today through at least Friday, 3 April 2020. Our foremost concern is for the health and safety of Council members, staff and the community.”

Authorities have confirmed 173 cases of the virus in New York, with 108 of them located in New Rochelle where a one-mile (1.6 km) “containment zone” has been enforced.

Events and gatherings in nearly every imaginable sector, from sports to business to culture, have been cancelled or postponed as the US tries to contain the coronavirus outbreak which has infected more than 1,000 people and killed 29.

Nigeria recorded it first case of the disease last after an Italian tested positive to the it with the second case confirmed on Monday after another man who had contact with the index case tested positive to the virus.

Coronavirus which broke out early last year in the Wuhan province of China has spread to over 100 countries with Over 100,000 infected and 3000 killed.