Coronavirus concerns have resulted in the cancellation of the Junction City Area Chamber of Commerce Christmas Parade. Coordinator Mark Ediger confirmed the decision to cancel Tuesday evening. The parade had been scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Friday. "
Ediger noted that things had looked good for the outdoor event, but that changed. "Encouraging folks to mask up and be careful, but events over the last few days in Geary County with a huge spike in COVID cases just convinced us in cooperation with the Geary County Health Department that maybe we need to cancel this year for the safety of our community."
With COVID-19 positive case numbers increasing in the county there was concern about the safety of those who might attend the parade. Among those expressing reservations was Geary County Health Officer Tammy Von Busch, and after a series of telephone calls with community leaders and Von Busch the decision was made to call off the event.
This was the first ever cancellation in the 25-year history of the Christmas parade. That was something Ediger had thought about quite a bit. "There were many years I worried about whether it's going to rain or whether it's going to snow or whether we would get enough entries for the parade." Ediger added never in his dreams did he think something like the coronavirus pandemic would happen and cancel the parade.
This would have been the 25th annual parade since it was started by Mark Ediger and KJCK Radio.
On Tuesday there were 17 new positive COVID-19 cases in the county and 44 more cases were reported Monday by the Health Department.