Houston mayor, Sylvester Turner announced due to the increase of cases of COVID-19, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo will be canceled.

RodeoHouston announced grounds will close at 4 p.m. on Wednesday.

The event began on Mar. 3 and was expected to end on Mar. 22.

On Mar. 6, the city of Austin announced it was canceling its annual event, SXSW. RodeoHouston officials then commented with no intent to shut down the rodeo but were taking extra precautions to ensure the safety of guests.

There are currently a total of 21 cases of COVID-19 in the state of Texas confirmed by the CDC with 14 of them being Houston-area residents.

Mayor Turner said he will sign an emergency health declaration for the city of Houston. The declaration will remain for 7 days while there is an assessment of the risks to the public.

This decision came after the confirmation of the case in Montgomery County showing signs of a community-based spread. The previous cases in the Houston-area were all shown to be travel-based. Mayor Turner spoke that the case in Montgomery County "changed things."