COLORADO SPRINGS — The annual Colorado Springs St. Patrick's Day Festival scheduled for Saturday is now postponed to September, according to event organizers.
Denver canceled their St. Patrick's Day parade due to the concerns surrounding the coronavirus. City officials said the decision to postpone by organizers was made "out of an abundance of caution around the COVID-19 virus."
At a media briefing Thursday afternoon city officials said they are still determining if the Space Symposium, scheduled for March 30 - April 2, will go on as planned.
Mayor John Suthers said every event is different and should be examined on a case-by-case basis. He also said current circumstances do not call for the city to shut down, and healthy people should continue to go about their daily routines and pursue normal activities.
El Paso County Health Medical Director Robin Johnson said there is still only one case of coronavirus in El Paso County and that taking proactive actions to slow the spread of the virus can help protect everyone.
As of Thursday morning, there are 33 presumptive positive cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) in Colorado awaiting verification by the Centers for Disease Control. Gov. Jared Polis warned the number of cases will spike as public health officials conduct more testing, including a drive-thru program in the Denver-metro.
In the Pikes Peak Region, there is one patient, a male in his 40s. The University of Colorado - Colorado Springs announced late Wednesday a student is in the process of being tested after meeting criteria. See a list of the number of cases per county below.
Various events were scheduled to begin Saturday morning, such as three courses for cyclists, that required tickets that ranged from $40-$180. The parade was set to begin at noon with a route from the corner of Tejon St. and E. St. Vrain towards the south to Tejon St. and Vermijo Ave.
