Dublin suspends St. Patrick’s Day events due to coronavirus concerns
The Dublin St. Patrick’s Day Festival announced Thursday it has suspended events beginning March 15 due to concerns about the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
The festival acknowledged rumors about the St. Patrick’s Parade being canceled on Tuesday and assured people the parade, at the time, was still planned for March 21, according to a Facebook post on the Dublin Laurens St. Patrick’s Day Festival page.
Two days later, the festival suspended all events beginning March 15, which included the parade.
“We deeply regret the inconvenience and disappointment this may cause our always supportive community, but appreciate the commitment in our efforts to best protect our area,” read the Facebook post.
The Irish Balloon Fest, planned for March 13-14, was canceled a few hours later. The Facebook post said the festival hopes to reschedule the event for later in the year.
“We share in your disappointment & made this very difficult decision out of love for our community,” read a comment from the festival to a person asking about the parade.
The Georgia Department of Public Health announced Wednesday night that there were 31 confirmed cases or presumptive positive cases of COVID-19 in 12 counties around Georgia, none of which have been in Middle Georgia counties, according to a news release.
This story was originally published March 12, 2020 at 12:12 PM.