Niall Horan and Lewis Capaldi forging ahead with joint tour

Niall Horan has assured fans his joint tour with Lewis Capaldi is still set to go ahead as planned.

With World Health Organisation (WHO) officials urging people to stay home and practice social distancing to prevent the spread of coronavirus, multiple concert tours have been cancelled or postponed, with festivals including Coachella, Stagecoach, and Glastonbury also affected.

However, speaking on British morning TV show Lorraine, the former One Direction star said that his tour in the U.S. is still scheduled to go ahead.

"My tour is going ahead as of now with Lewis," he confirmed. "But God knows, day by day things are changing, it would be a shame to lose it but we have to listen to the people too."

The tour is set to kick off on 20 April at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee.

The news comes after Lewis was criticised for being irresponsible for continuing to perform shows for thousands of fans despite the global health crisis. A spokesperson for the star insisted he was "in full compliance" with government guidelines.

Niall also spoke about the situation in his native Ireland, which is in lockdown to prevent the spread of the virus.

"My cousin and my auntie sent me a picture," he said, revealing that his cousins were finding inventive and safe ways to speak to his 90-year-old grandmother. "She's behind a window in her house and my cousins are speaking her from a phone outside... It's sad but cute at the same time."

Globally, more than 225,000 cases of coronavirus have been registered, resulting in a death toll of over 9,200 since the outbreak began in December.

Niall's tour is in support of his new album Heartbreak Weather, which is out now.