SAMMAMISH, Wash. — The cancellation took many by shock, including Ron Thiel.
“It came as a sad surprise for me ... it’s a bummer,” he told KIRO 7 News.
When it comes to celebrating Lunar New Year 2020, Thiel only has pictures from prior Lunar New Year events to make him happy.
As head of the Issaquah School District, he planned on having 100 of his students attend the event this weekend. Then coronavirus struck and ruined everything.
“Safety is always the primary concern, and if you have an issue that’s going to be a safety concern, it makes sense." Thiel said.
Organizers said the cancellation was precautionary following a rough week on the local health front.
To date, only one man has become sickened with coronavirus in the Seattle area, but the scope of a possible outbreak keeps getting wider.
On Friday, health workers said they were monitoring 60 people who had close contact with that man before he was diagnosed.
“It does become very labor-intensive to follow up with all contacts, but fortunately the CDC has been very supportive,” remarked Dr. Kathy Lofy, Washington State Department of Health.
So far no other people in the Seattle area have shown signs of coronavirus.
Even then, though, the risk of being infected was just too much for the Sammamish Lunar New Year.
City workers said they plan to reschedule the event for a later date when coronavirus is no longer a threat.
Despite the cancellation of the Sammamish Lunar New Year, organizers of the Seattle Lunar New Year said they still planned to hold the event on the weekend of Jan. 25.
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