San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Virus exposure concerns cancel attack memorial
CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — A national memorial in New Zealand to commemorate the 51 people who were killed when a gunman attacked two mosques one year ago has been canceled due to concern over the new coronavirus.
Thousands of people were expected to attend the Sunday service in Christchurch to mark the anniversary of the March 15 shooting.
New Zealand has had just six confirmed cases of COVID-19. All of those cases have been connected to people returning from abroad and so far there haven’t been signs of a local outbreak. The most recent case, involving a man in his 60s who recently returned from the U.S., was announced by health officials Saturday.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the decision to cancel the service at Horncastle Arena, also announced Saturday, was pragmatic and precautionary.
“We’re very saddened to cancel, but in remembering such a terrible tragedy, we shouldn’t create the risk of further harm being done,” Ardern said in a release. The announcement came a day after Ardern had said at a news conference in Christchurch that the event would still go ahead. Some had questioned at the time why the
Christchurch residents place flowers outside the Al Noor mosque. A national memorial had been planned to commemorate the 51 people killed at two mosques by a gunman last year.
event was proceeding after Ardern and other officials had elected to cancel a festival in Auckland celebrating Pacific culture due to fears over the coronavirus.
On Friday, Ardern attended a special joint prayer with members of both mosques that were attacked.
Immediately after last year’s attacks, Ardern started working on changing the nation’s gun laws. The deadliest types of semi-automatics are now banned, and in a nationwide buyback, gun owners turned in about 60,000 of their newly outlawed weapons for cash.
The man accused of the
attacks, Australian white supremacist Brenton Tarrant, 29, is due to stand trial in June on charges of terrorism, murder and attempted murder. If found guilty, he would face a sentence of life imprisonment.