BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — At a press conference Tuesday afternoon, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said the city was still planning to host the 124th Boston Marathon amid fears of the spread of COVID-19.
This comes a day after the city cancelled the annual South Boston St. Patrick's Day Parade due to coronavirus concerns.
"Right now the marathon is on for April," Mayor Marty Walsh said. "There are conversations happening, but there is no definite confirmation what's happening. I think this is a very fluid situation."
Walsh said the city continues to monitor the spread of coronavirus, and is taking precautions now should things get worse.
"I can speak for the City of Boston, we're taking very aggressive action," Walsh said. "We're preparing for the inevitable—if we have to close schools, how do we get breakfasts and lunches to our kids? How do we make sure our seniors get the food they deserve? Are we working with the food pantry? We're laying all that work down now. We're preparing for, unfortunately, what might be the inevitable in the City of Boston."
There are currently a total of 41 coronavirus cases in Massachusetts. There has been one confirmed case of coronavirus in Boston, and there are eight presumptive cases.
Walsh also defended his decision last month to ask SONY not to pull out of PAX East at the Boston Convention Center.
"At that point, we didn't have eight cases of potential coronavirus in Boston, we didn't have 41 potential cases in Massachusetts," he said. "It was a very different situation a few weeks ago, and in five days, it's going to be a very different situation again."
WBZ NewsRadio's Laurie Kirby (@LaurieWBZ) reports
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