DENVER (KDVR) — Denver’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade has been canceled amid the coronavirus outbreak, officials said Tuesday.
Mayor Michael Hancock made the announcement Tuesday morning alongside Theresa Melaragno, the president of the Denver St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee.
The parade was scheduled for Saturday.
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“Following discussions with public health officials at the city and at the urging of the Mayor during consultation yesterday and this morning, the Denver St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee has made the tough decision to cancel this year’s parade due to the on-going situation surrounding COVID-19,” Melaragno and Hancock said in a written statement.
Heralded as the largest St. Patrick’s Day parade west of the Mississippi River, the event draws an estimated 250,000 people to Lower Downtown. This year would have been the parade’s 58th.
On Monday, Hancock said there were no plans to cancel the parade.