Kansas City’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade is canceled to prevent spread of coronavirus
The 48th Annual Kansas City St. Patrick’s Day Parade has been canceled as a precaution to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus, according to an announcement on the organizers’ website.
“Canceling the parade was not a decision we made lightly,” said Adam Cannon, the parade’s senior co-chair, in the statement. “For 48 years, the Kansas City St. Patrick’s Day Parade has been a tradition for families, business, organizations and so many more.
“But with the rapid developments that have occurred over the last 24 hours including the announcement from the World Health Organization and the President’s address to the nation, we feel that the most responsible thing we can do is cancel the parade.”
Parade organizers said they will spend the next 24 hours regrouping and discussing the plan for moving forward. The parade would have been held Tuesday, March 17.
This weekend’s Snake Saturday Parade and Festival, including the Charity Cook-off, in North Kansas City also has been canceled, according to a post on Facebook.
The announcements of the parade cancellations come a day after the World Health Organization declared the global coronavirus crisis a pandemic and President Donald Trump, in an address from the Oval Office, announced the closing of America’s border to most of Europe to fight the spread of the virus.
The NCAA and BIG 12 on Wednesday barred fans from basketball tournaments over growing coronavirus concerns. The University of Kansas and University of Missouri have suspended classes.
“It’s clear that many of our long-time traditions of spring, our planned activities, and how we interact over the weeks and moths ahead will change dramatically as we confront our current public health challenge,” Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said on Twitter in response to the cancellation of the parade.
“We will be sharing more today about how we will address it,” he said.
Kansas City has provided a website that details the city’s response to the coronavirus.
This story was originally published March 12, 2020 at 6:33 AM.
