SAVANNAH, Ga. — Savannah’s 2021 St. Patrick’s Day festival and parade won’t go on as planned as COVID-19 cases continue to rise.
The Savannah St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee made the announcement Tuesday after Savannah mayor Van Johnson announced the city would extend it's moratorium on event permits through the end of the March.
"While this is disappointing, we are confident in the City’s decision," Savannah St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee said Tuesday.
“Frankly speaking, without a statewide mask mandate, and with conflicting rules from our state that don’t require universal, science-driven precautions to be mandated by private businesses, we cannot do St. Patrick’s Day safely in its present form,” Mayor Jonson said at his weekly media update on Tuesday.
"Since the first Savannah St. Patrick’s Day Parade in 1824, there have been extraordinary times when we had to cancel the parade, and this is unfortunately one of those times," said John Fogarty, Chair of the Savannah St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee. "Our top priority has always been to ensure the health, safety and welfare of parade participants and attendees."
This will be the second year the event has been cancelled because of coronavirus concerns.