ST. GEORGE, Utah — The city of St. George announced the cancellation of some events and sports tournaments due to the surge in Covid-19 cases.
As of November 4th, Washington County has 122 new cases. Total number of cases is 5,555 and 47 deaths.
This is data St. George leaders are tracking and they say it’s putting a strain on hospitals.
After consulting with healthcare providers, the city is temporarily restricting the following events that bring in 500 or more people to their community.
The canceled events include: the Seegmiller Farm Harvest Days & Turkey Trot (November 21), and Kick Off to Christmas and Santa Dash (November 30), and other events such as soccer and lacrosse tournaments.
Their biggest and most popular event is the Snow Canyon Half Marathon, which was scheduled to take place this Saturday, November 7th. David Cordero, communications & marketing director for the City of St. George says six weeks ago they didn’t imagine the numbers escalating they way they did. They decided to take action now.
“We hate to cancel it. Typically, we have about 2000 people running the Snow Canyon Half and 80% are out of the area so with all those people coming in, it’s not just them, it’s their family members it’s a difficult thing.”
Many runners expressed their disappointment on the city’s Facebook page. Miryka Haberl wrote: “So much training and time go into preparing for these. You should have made your decision weeks ago if you’re going to blame Covid.
Others were more forgiving. Evans Sanders wrote: “Sad, but understandable. Thanks for keeping us safe.”
Meantime, city leaders are urging residents to do their part - wear a mask and practice social distancing - to help slow down the spread of the virus.
