Will coronavirus stop Kansas City area St. Patrick’s Day parades? Organizers watching

Concern about the new coronavirus is laying waste to St. Patrick’s Day parades across the country, with Chicago; Boston; Denver; Hartford, Connecticut; and Springfield, Missouri, all pulling the plug on their annual events.

But as of Tuesday, the shows will go on in Kansas City, with all local parades scheduled as planned for this weekend and March 17, including Kansas City’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade, in its 48th year.

Parade organizers in the metro area have consulted local and state health departments to decide whether it’s safe to hold their events during a public health emergency.

“We’re struggling with two issues right now. One is weather. The other is concerns about the coronavirus,” said Sean Ackerson with the Brookside Business Association, a sponsor of Brookside’s St. Patrick’s Day Warm-up parade on Saturday.

With no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Kansas City, health officials have not issued any restrictions on attending public events, according to Chris Hernandez, city spokesman.

“The City of Kansas City has no plans to cancel any events, unless circumstances change,” Hernandez said in a statement.

As of Tuesday, only one case of COVID-19 had been reported in the metro area — a Johnson County woman who is “doing well” at the University of Kansas Hospital, officials there said on Monday.

Parade organizers say they are relying on the guidance of health professionals. “We like to say we are in the parade business, not the coronavirus business. We don’t have any business making that decision on our own,” said Erin Gabert, spokeswoman for the Kansas City St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

“We are completely taking the lead from our health experts — the Kansas City Health Department — and they have not given us any indication that we should be canceling at this point.

“And we know that other neighborhood parades have talked to Jackson County (health officials), the state and they are all saying it’s not necessary at this point in Kansas City.”

Organizers of Snake Saturday parade in North Kansas City on Saturday also have been keeping tabs on coronavirus developments from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as one of its sponsors, North Kansas City Hospital.

That parade has seen crowds as large as 125,000 in good weather.

“We haven’t changed how we’re doing the parade,” said spokeswoman Mindy Hart Davis. “If they were to declare a state of emergency, we would certainly take appropriate steps.

“But barring any official declaration, we’re … advising people to take precautions that are best for them. And we will move forward and have a family friendly event.”

Organizers of Springfield’s parade, scheduled for Saturday, said they canceled their event, including the Irish pet contest, out of caution.

“As of today there are no discovered cases of COVID19 in the Ozarks. We want to keep it that way,” they said in a Facebook announcement on Tuesday.

But the virus has both Massachusetts and Connecticut in a state of emergency.

If you’re sick, stay home

The CDC has become very pointed in its advice for older Americans with serious chronic medical conditions, including heart disease, diabetes and lung disease: Avoid crowds as much as possible. At this time, older people appear the most likely to get seriously sick if infected with the virus.

Health officials trying to mitigate the spread of the virus are telling people to stay away from sick people at work and in public.

“We urge people to prevent the spread of any disease by washing your hands thoroughly and often, covering your cough, and stay home if you feel sick,” Rex Archer, director of the Kansas City Health Department, says on the city’s website. “And greet people with a friendly smile instead of shaking hands.”

The city’s other advice: Whether it’s a cold, flu or coronavirus, it’s a good idea for people who have a cough, fever or shortness of breath — all symptoms of COVID-19 — to stay home and get well, rather than attend events.

That prompted a new recommendation to anyone participating in Brookside’s parade, which can draw 5,000 to 10,000 spectators depending on the weather.

“In our advice to participants, the one thing we did change, other than just talking about it within, we’re advising them that if they have participants, if you’re a school walking with numerous kids or have multiple riders, if your participants are sick, please don’t bring them to the parade,” Ackerson said. “We ask that those individuals stay home.”

“That’s probably good advice for any year, but particularly this year.”

Gabert said Kansas City’s parade planners started “noodling” about the coronavirus situation late last week. People started asking questions after the organizers of the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas, canceled over coronavirus fears.

“The difference there is that’s an event that brings people from all over the country and all over the world,” Gabert said. “Much as we would like that … we don’t, and we are a completely open-air event.”

Local parade organizers said they’ve never had to consider canceling their events for anything other than bad weather. And dicey weather on Saturday is still a concern. (The forecast calls for widespread showers on Saturday, with the possibility of rain turning to snow north of the metro.)

Organizers have never seen revelers on a parade float throw bottles of hand sanitizer into the crowds, either, but apparently that’s a possibility in Brookside.

That parade will mark its 40th anniversary, “so we’d hate for it not to happen,” said Ackerson. “But the forecast and the public health advisories could change at any moment.”

Kansas City area St. Patrick’s Day parades

▪ Kansas City St. Patrick’s Day Parade, 11 a.m. March 17. The route will begin at Linwood and Broadway and head south on Broadway to 43rd Street. kcirishparade.com.

▪ Brookside St. Patrick’s Day Warm-Up Parade, March 14, Brookside. brooksidekc.org/st-patricks-warm-up-parade

▪ Emerald Isle Parade, March 14, downtown Lee’s Summit. downtownls.org/event/emerald-isle-parade

▪ Snake Saturday Parade, March 14, North Kansas City. snakesaturday.com

▪ Martin City St. Patrick’s Parade, March 15, Martin City. facebook.com/events/1611159462371399

▪ Shawnee St. Patrick’s Day Parade, March 15, Shawnee City Hall. facebook.com/events/47705846289213

▪ World’s Smallest and Shortest St Patrick’s Day Parade, March 17, Downtown Blue Springs. business.bluespringschamber.com

Includes reporting by The Star’s Dan Kelly.

This story was originally published March 10, 2020 at 5:54 PM.