Katy Perry cancels interviews over coronavirus fears

Katy Perry flew back to the United States from Sydney Airport in Australia on Friday, a day after she abruptly cancelled all her press interviews and self-isolated herself for 24 hours in a Sydney hotel amid coronavirus scare.

According to Mail Online, Katy Perry was sent to "quarantine" and also forced to cancel a "secret listening party" at the last minute after a coronavirus scare at her record label Universal Music. Park Hyatt in Sydney, the hotel where the pregnant star was staying, had also hosted Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson just days ago. The actor-couple has also tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19).

The chaos happened after two people at the record label's headquarters in Woolloomooloo, Australia, were reported to be exposed to the virus and staff were instructed to "immediately quarantine" themselves. As a precautionary measure, Universal Music decided to cancel Perry's private event in Redfern as well, which was due to host 30 record label staff and various media representatives, reports Sunshine Coast Daily.

An industry insider told Daily Mail Australia that the record label had taken a smart decision considering that such events are always at or "exceeding room capacity." The source said: "I'd be very concerned about the attendees of that listening party. Everybody stands shoulder to shoulder just so they can fit inside the room," adding that the norms at such networking events include shaking everybody's hands and handing out as many business cards as possible.

While there has been a rise in COVID-19 cases in Australia, Perry managed to perform at the "Fight On" concert on Wednesday, which benefitted bushfire relief in the Pioneer Park Reserve.

Meanwhile, the "Roar" singer, who reportedly did not leave the hotel for 24 hours, uploaded a picture of the Sydney sky on her Instagram stories, captioning it: "rn (right now) in Sydney." In the picture taken from Circular Quay harbour, the sky had "wash" written over it, which is a preventive measure against catching the respiratory disease.

The incident comes just days after Perry revealed that her parents have stopped making any physical contact with her during her pregnancy amid the rapid spread of the novel coronavirus. The 35-year-old singer told the radio show 'Hughesy & Ed' on Monday: "My parents fist-bumped me the other day. I was like, 'What? Okay. I don't know... cool.'"

Meanwhile, Perry's fiance Orlando Bloom has also been sent home from the filming of his Amazon show "Carnival Row" that was taking place in Prague, and ordered to self-isolate himself, as he revealed in an Instagram post.

"It seems really crazy this whole corona thing, but do the right thing by you and your family and stay safe and in a few weeks we'll beat this bad boy," the "Pirates of the Caribbean" actor told his followers.