Kenneth Branagh, the Belfast writer, director and producer, will not attend the Oscar Wilde Awards on Thursday after testing positive for COVID-19, the event’s organizer said.Branagh, who is up for three Academy Awards — for directing, original screenplay and best picture — on Sunday, was going to make a stop at the Oscar Wilde event to be honored alongside Belfast actor Jamie Dornan, Don’t Look Up writer-director Adam McKay and Irish actor Dónall Ó Héalai.

US-Ireland Alliance president Trina Vargo, who organizes the show that honors Irish contributions to Hollywood in film, television and music, said Branagh will record his acceptance speech, and it will be shown to those on hand at the Ebell of Los Angeles

On March 13, Branagh attended the BAFTA ceremony in London, and that event is blamed for a string of positive tests among awards-season attendees. He was isolating in New York, where he arrived March 15 and tested positive. 

Concerns about COVID-19 caused the 16th annual Oscar Wilde Awards to move from the Bad Robot, J.J. Abrams and Katie McGrath’s production company, to the larger Ebell, where it was held from 2006-11. The event was canceled last year because of the pandemic.