St. Patrick’s Day parade cancelled again due to COVID
HAMILTON » The annual Saint Patrick’s Day Parade in Hamilton is once again being canceled.
“Obviously the biggest reason why is due to the COVID-19 virus,” Mayor Jeff Martin said Tuesday in his monthly WBCB 1490am radio address.
Having thousands of people celebrating in the street and then going to bars and restaurants in mid-March, Martin said, would likely become a “superspreader event.”
“Unfortunately and obviously the second year in a row we didn’t have the parade,” Martin said, “but my belief is that once we are able to have it, it’s going to be bigger and better than ever.”
The parade committee canceled last year’s march as the deadly virus spread through New Jersey, and the committee canceled this year’s festivities as the Garden State receives inadequate supplies of the hotly demanded COVID-19 vaccines.
Martin and Vince McKelvey of the Hamilton St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee first announced the 2021 parade cancellation in a joint statement earlier this week.
“In the best interest of all involved, including attendees,” the mayor and parade committee’s chairman said Monday, “it was mutually decided that the parade could not be held safely during the COVID-19 pandemic we continue to face. … We look forward to safely celebrating St. Patrick’s Day together in 2022.”
The parade traditionally begins with opening ceremonies at the Nottingham firehouse before marching up Mercer Street and down Nottingham Way.
Another popular annual event, Hamilton’s Azalea Festival, could potentially be canceled yet again as the public health emergency lingers.
Martin said the township is tentatively planning to host Azalea Festival this May. However, “It’s too far out in time right now,” he added, “to be able to make an announcement one way or the other.”
The township canceled last year’s Azalea Festival out of an abundance of caution due to COVID-19. The event traditionally occurs on Mother’s Day at the scenic Sayen Botanical Gardens.
Martin in his radio address on Tuesday also mentioned the Diocese of Trenton’s decision to permanently close Trenton Catholic Academy.
“I know there is a big push to save TCA,” Martin said. “I hope that push is successful.”
The Diocese of Trenton earlier this month announced TCA will shutter in June because of prolonged financial hardship made worse by the pandemic.
Nearly 19,000 New Jerseyans have died from COVID-19 since the state announced the first death on March 10, 2020, data show.
The mayor continues to urge Hamiltonians to register with multiple health partners statewide to receive a COVID-19 vaccination ASAP. Frontline health care workers, first responders and those at highest risk are now eligible for the Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech inoculation.
“As a township we are only able to vaccinate about 200 people per week,” Martin said. “Obviously that trend can’t continue, because it would take us years to be able to vaccinate everybody in the county and in the municipality.”
The township continues to “press” Mercer County and Gov. Phil Murphy’s office for more vaccine, Martin said, adding, “The state’s hands are tied with how much they get from the federal government.”
“But rest assured,” Martin said, “we have the infrastructure ready, we have the staffing ready to be staffed up to be able to give more vaccine when it becomes available.”
President Joe Biden and the White House on Tuesday announced the commander-inchief will boost overall, weekly vaccine supply to states, tribes and territories from 8.6 million doses to a minimum of 10 million doses.
“This increase of 1.4 million doses per week,” the White House said in a statement, “will allow millions more Americans to get vaccinated sooner than previously anticipated.”