City Cancels St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Mayor’s Masters Reception
In a Town Hall meeting this afternoon in the Richmond County Commission chambers, Mayor Hardie Davis sought to begin a dialogue concerning the COVID-19 virus and its impact on Augusta.
It was stessed there have been no cases reported in the Augusta area, and the city will maintain business as usual for the foreseeable future. “There are no documented cases in this area,” stated Stephen Goggans, director of the East Central Georgia Health District.
When the mayor was asked about the Mayor’s Masters Reception by a member of the media, he stated the decision would be announced soon. The mayor also stated that the city had been in discussions with all parties involved in the St. Patrick’s Day parade and that a decision would be made by the end of the day as to whether the parade would go on or not. (It was cancelled, as was Atlanta’s and Savannah’s. The Mayor’s Masters Reception was also cancelled).
Saturday’s 7th Annual Springfest, being held in the Augusta Common from noon until 7 PM, will go on as planned. The free event is family friendly and features live music, craft beer and multiple food trucks.
Goggans stated, “We’re not talking about the closure of events at this point.”
Fire Chief and EMA Director Chris James asked citizens not to make a run on masks and other items. James recommends no more than a three day supply of essentials at all times.
Goggins said, “I really would encourage everyone to try to get your information from the most reliable sources that you can, and that is the CDC website.” The website has a section for Coronavirus 2019, and Goggins said “you can go through when you can and gather some of the same information that we will be putting out locally.”
As far as the elephant in the room, according to Golf Digest a decision could be announced as early as this weekend by the Augusta National Golf Club regarding the 2020 Masters. The website states that more than likely the announcement won’t come until next week, not only giving the club more time to review the situation but also not to take attention away from the Players Championship.
Golf Digest reports Augusta National is considering limiting patron access or banning patrons from the course entirely.
Multiple sources did insist that canceling the tournament “is not expected at this time” according to the article.