New York City has canceled its St Patrick’s Day parade for the first time in more than 250 years as the coronavirus continues to spread across the Big Apple.
The parade was scheduled to take place on Tuesday, March 17.
New York’s parade is the most important St Patrick’s Day parade in the US and typically attracts two million spectators.
New York City has canceled its St Patrick’s Day parade (pictured in March 2018) for the first time in more than 250 years as the coronavirus continues to spread across the Big Apple
New York City’s St Patrick’s Day parade has yet to be canceled by Mayor Bill de Blasio (pictured with light green tie, right during 2019 parade)
The New York parade, which goes up Fifth Avenue from 44th Street to 80th, has taken place every year since 1762.
The event takes on a crowded party atmosphere, and attendees are known to consume large amounts of beer and other alcoholic beverages – which could make following precautionary social distancing measures intended to stem the spread of the virus more difficult.
Mayor Bill de Blasio has yet to confirm the cancellation, but City Councilwoman Carlina Rivera told the New York Post that the parade will not proceed.
De Blasio said earlier on Wednesday that he was considering canceling the parade.
‘We’re talking it through with the parade committee. We have to really think about this one because it’s a beloved event, an important event,’ he said.
There have been at least 20 confirmed coronavirus cases in New York and the city has yet to enact any official isolation measures, though Governor Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency.
On Wednesday, Cuomo said that health experts are recommending that New York City’s venerable St Patrick’s Day parade be cancelled amid the coronavirus outbreak.
‘Why would you risk bringing thousands of people together knowing that this is virus that easily communicates?’ Cuomo asked, explaining the thinking of those urging the event be canceled.
Chicago’s mayor, Lori Lightfoot, announced earlier on Wednesday that the city’s St Patrick’s Day parade (crowds pictured in 2019) would not move forward due to coronavirus concerns
The Boston parade (crowds in 2018), originally scheduled for March 15, was expected to attract about one million attendees, but Mayor Marty Walsh canceled the parade on Tuesday
The governor told a news conference at the state Capitol that officials would likely make a decision later Wednesday, but Cuomo has not confirmed the cancellation either.
Earlier on Wednesday, Chicago’s mayor Lori Lightfoot announced the cancellation of the city’s St Patrick’s Day parade amid coronavirus concerns.
According to the parade’s website, the river dyeing has also been canceled for Saturday. No other details were released.
Chicago doesn’t have any confirmed corornavirus cases, but the state of Illinois has 19.
The mayor’s announcement came just a day after Boston canceled their St Patrick’s Day parade.
The Boston parade, originally scheduled for March 15, was expected to attract about one million attendees.
The decision to cancel the parade was made ‘out of an abundance of caution to ensure that we are doing what is needed to keep the residents of Boston safe and healthy,’ mayor Marty Walsh said in a statement shared via Twitter.
‘While the risk in Boston remains low, this situation is changing very quickly,’ the statement said. ‘Our top priority is preventing any new cases, to the best of our ability.’
March celebrations honoring Saint Patrick, the patron of Ireland, bring together more people in the US – where millions of people are descended from Irish immigrants – than in Ireland itself, where the government on Monday also canceled festivities.
Social, political and business events have been canceled around the world in an effort to slow the deadly coronavirus’s transmission.
There have been more than 121,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the world and more than 4,300 deaths.
In the US, there are more than 1,000 confirmed cases of the virus and 32 deaths.