Fears of an escalating coronavirus pandemic are growing in China and abroad. Student trips at local universities have been canceled in some cases, and Chinese celebrations of the Year of the Rat have been severely curtailed by quarantines. In this climate, the City of Rockville has decided to cancel its planned Lunar New Year celebration that had been scheduled for this Saturday, February 1, 2020 at Rockville High School.
A statement released by the City Monday stated that "[t]he decision to cancel the event was made out of an abundance of caution in response to concerns about the coronavirus that have arisen from community members, event participants and the city’s Asian Pacific American Task Force, which partners with the city to organize the annual celebration."
The event will not be rescheduled, the statement added. A growing number of suspected coronavirus cases in the Washington D.C. region, including Maryland and Virginia, have increased concerns in recent days. The City noted that it is far from the only jurisdiction to cancel planned Chinese New Year festivities this week.
Graphics via CDC.gov
