St. Patrick's Day Parade In Cleveland Cancelled

CLEVELAND — The 2020 Cleveland St. Patrick's Day Parade is cancelled, officials announced on Wednesday morning. Officials said concern over the new coronavirus, called COVID-19, prompted the decision.

"The United Irish Societies, in collaboration with city officials and public health officials have made this decision as a precautionary measure in the best interest of and for the public health and safety of our community. Our priority is to help prevent new cases," organizers said in a statement.

Parade officials seemed intent to press forward with the event prior before Gov. Mike DeWine held a press conference on Tuesday. The governor said all parades planned statewide should be cancelled. He said they created an unsafe environment for attendees because of the possibility of close-contact with someone carrying the virus.

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Ohio's first confirmed cases of COVID-19, were announced on Monday. All three infected people live in Cuyahoga County. The state is currently waiting for test results on five other individuals. More than 250 residents are being monitored by the Ohio Department of Health.

There are currently 1,050 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the U.S., Johns Hopkins University reported. Twenty-nine Americans have been killed by the virus.