Boston cancels St Patrick's Day Parade over coronavirus fears

[Dennis Donovan]

Link to tweet

Jonathan Lemire ✔@JonLemire

So *this* is a big cancellation

Mayor Marty Walsh ✔@marty_walsh

Boston's St. Patrick's Day Parade, scheduled for 3/15/20, is being cancelled. This decision is being 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.



6:06 PM - Mar 9, 2020

I'm out of "wows".

[virgogal]

1. Lordy,and the Marathon may be next......huge crowds.

[Kingofalldems]

2. Ireland also canceled many.

[Dennis Donovan]

4. Yep. They made a huge mistake in 1918 during the flu pandemic

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_distancing#Canceling_mass_gatherings

Evidence suggesting that mass gatherings increase the potential for infectious disease transmission is inconclusive. Anecdotal evidence suggests that certain types of mass gatherings may be associated with increased risk of influenza transmission, and may also "seed" new strains into an area, instigating community transmission in a pandemic. During the 1918 influenza pandemic, military parades in Philadelphia and Boston may have been responsible for spreading the disease by mixing infected sailors with crowds of civilians. Restricting mass gatherings, in combination with other social distancing interventions, may help reduce transmission.

[BumRushDaShow]

5. Philly's parade is still on

Canceled in Ireland, but not in Philly: St. Patrick’s Day Parade proceeds despite coronavirus concern

ByMiles BryanMarch 9, 2020

Despite mounting concerns about the spread of novel coronavirus in the region, the organizers of Philadelphia’s annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade say the event will go ahead as scheduled. “The fact is we have to continue as a population to go on with our lives,” said Michael J. Bradley Jr., the former longtime director and current grand marshall of the parade. “We don’t have any plans of stopping this parade on Sunday.”

The city’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade, scheduled for Sunday, March 15, includes about 20,000 participants and can draw up to 100,000 spectators, according to Bradley. First organized in 1771, the parade is the second oldest St. Patrick’s Day celebration in the country. This year marks its 250th anniversary.

City officials are not currently recommending any changes to the festivities. “We … continue to recommend that parade-goers practice good respiratory hygiene,” James Garrow, a spokesperson for the Philadelphia Department of Health, said in an email. “If someone is sick, they should not attend the parade. Everyone should take care to wash their hands with soap and water or hand sanitizer. Everyone should cover their cough or sneeze, stay away from people who are visibly sick and not touch their faces.”

As of Monday afternoon, ten people have tested positive for coronavirus in Pennsylvania. Seven of those cases are residents of Montgomery County, and there is one each from Delaware, Wayne and Monroe Counties. Three people are hospitalized, but state health officials would not disclose information about their identities or say where they are being treated. The rest are staying home to avoid spreading the virus.

https://whyy.org/articles/canceled-in-ireland-but-not-in-philly-st-patricks-day-parade-proceeds-despite-coronavirus-concern/

[AlexSFCA]

6. if we dont act now, we'll have to quarantine the entire country like Italy

[greatauntoftriplets]

7. I hope that Chicago is next.

[lpbk2713]

8. This is big news.

The mayor is taking this seriously to take such measures.