Wilkes-Barre Mayor George Brown, right, and Fire Department Chief Jay Delaney address the media about postponement of Sunday’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
                                 Aimee Dilger | Times Leader

Wilkes-Barre Mayor George Brown, right, and Fire Department Chief Jay Delaney address the media about postponement of Sunday’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

Aimee Dilger | Times Leader

Wilkes-Barre postpones St. Patrick’s Day parade amid push to prevent spread of virus

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<p>Wilkes-Barre Health Department Director Hank Radulski, left, Mayor George Brown and Fire Chief Jay Delaney address the media about the spread of the COVID-19 virus and the postponement of Sunday’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade.</p>
                                 <p>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader</p>

Wilkes-Barre Health Department Director Hank Radulski, left, Mayor George Brown and Fire Chief Jay Delaney address the media about the spread of the COVID-19 virus and the postponement of Sunday’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

Aimee Dilger | Times Leader

WILKES-BARRE — Hours after organizers announced the indefinite postponement of Scranton’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade this weekend due to the spread of the novel coronavirus, Mayor George Brown on Wednesday did the same.

No date has been set to reschedule the Wilkes-Barre parade that was supposed to be held Sunday afternoon in the downtown.

“The first thing that I care about in this city is the safety of our residents,” Brown said during a press conference in City Hall office.

The decision the Scranton organizers made earlier to postpone their parade scheduled for Saturday afternoon had no bearing on Wilkes-Barre’s, Brown explained.

“We kicked this around all day long, I’ll be honest with you,” Brown said.

Separate from the parade, the Greater Wilkes-Barre Friendly Sons of St. Patrick postponed its dinner Friday. Elsewhere, parades in Philadelphia, Boston and Ireland were canceled.

Brown, in conjunction with Fire Department Chief Jay Delaney, who serves as the city’s emergency management coordinator, and Wilkes-Barre Health Department Director Hank Radulski, met and spoke with the city’s medical director Dr. Robert Czwalina, and other doctors and experts.

The gathering of people in crowds, the scramble for public restrooms and the effect of the COVID-19 virus on elderly people with underlying health issues all factored into the decision.

“A lot of thought came into this decision because I truly wanted to hold this parade, I really did and I wanted to make sure it was something that was available to our residents and visitors,” Brown said.

No date has been set to reschedule the parade and Brown hoped it could be in warmer weather.

The announcement was timed to give businesses 72 hours to adjust their orders, Brown said. “Hopefully it won’t hurt them financially,” he said.

Still, the mayor said he expected people to celebrate on what would have been parade day.

“I’m sure people are still going to be out enjoying the restaurants and the other parts of the city, it’s just that they won’t have a parade to come out to,” Brown said. “But I’m hoping that they still come out and they enjoy the great restaurants we have and the other things.”

Friendly Sons event

The Friendly Sons’ 75th annual St. Patrick’s Day dinner, which was set for Friday at Genetti’s in downtown Wilkes-Barre, was to include former Philadelphia Eagles kicker David Akers as guest speaker and Wilkes-Barre Family YMCA Executive Director Jim Thomas as the organization’s Man of the Year.

The dinner will be rescheduled for a later date, event chairman Michael Ward said.

“The decision to postpone this annual event was made out of concern for the safety of our members, guests and the hotel staff,” Ward said.

Declared a pandemic

The virus that causes respiratory illness was first identified in Wuhan, China, late last year and spread globally to the point where the World Health Organization Wednesday declared it a pandemic. More than 4,200 deaths related to the virus have been reported worldwide. More than 1,000 cases have been confirmed in the U. S.

In Pennsylvania, the Department of Health said there are 16 cases statewide — 14 of the cases are presumptive positive and two cases in Delaware County and Wayne County have been confirmed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There have been no reported cases in Luzerne County.

“We’ve received numerous phone calls and we’ve investigated many calls already and they’ve all come up that there was no confirmation of any type of coronavirus,” Radulski noted.

But Delaney acknowledged it was just a matter of time.

“As our intelligence and surveillance tell us it’s going to be here at some point,” Delaney said. “So as the mayor has long said we’re trying to be proactive rather than reactive.”

Last week Brown announced a partnership with the Wilkes-Barre Area School District for a series of programs designed to minimize the spread of the virus. In addition, the city’s first responders have been educated about the virus and there is enough equipment and material on hand for them to respond appropriately, Delaney added.

Pa. expects more cases

Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine also warned the count will increase.

“While we anticipate that there will be more Pennsylvanians with COVID-19 in the coming days and weeks, it is important for residents to know the commonwealth is prepared and to be prepared themselves,” Levine said. “Right now, you have a higher chance of testing positive for COVID-19 if you have traveled to a country or state with known community outbreaks or have come in contact with someone who has the virus.”

The department has been working to keep the health care community across the state informed Pennsylvania to keep them informed, consult with them on patient testing and ensure them of the availability of the resources needed to care for patients, Levine said.

Reach Jerry Lynott at 570-991-6120 or on Twitter @TLJerryLynott.