KITCHENER -- The Stratford Festival has decided to put the rest of its 2020 season on hold.

In an announcement posted to Twitter, the festival says it came to the "heartbreaking conclusion" on Monday.

"Sadly, we have to come to terms with the fact that we are going to have to put our glorious 2020 season on hold," says Artistic Director Antoni Cimolino in a video statement.

He says that, practically, that means they will likely have to delay the 2020 season's offerings until the next festival season.

Cimolino says that, if it's possibleto return to the stage sooner for a fall or holiday show, they will let festival-goers know.

Back in March, the festival announced it would be cancelling its shows through the end of May. As a result, the company said it issued nearly 500 temporary layoff notices to festival staff.

Since, the Stratford Festival has begun offering free archival performances online for fans to watch safely amid the pandemic.

"While the creation of a vaccine and anti-viral drugs will cure this pandemic, ultimately what will cure society in its aftermath is art," the announcement from the festival reads.