New York has become the latest American city to postpone its St Patrick’s Day parade, the first time it has done so since the parade began in 1762.

It follows cancellations in major US cities including Chicago and Boston, as well as cities in Ireland.

Speaking just before the postponement was announced, mayor Bill de Blasio said that while it is “a beloved event, an important event,” and that “It’s not a slam dunk to say this is something to be instantly canceled,” the sheer size of the communal gathering meant postponement had to be on the table.

There remains some confusion over whether the parade has been postponed or cancelled. At the time of writing, the official organisers’ latest Tweet read: “At this point in time contrary to the media outlets and social media no decision has been made to cancel the NYC St Patricks Day Parade. Please continue to check this page for updates.”

The governor of New York state, Andrew Cuomo, meanwhile, landed himself in hot water at a press conference when he answered a question from a New York Post reporter in a mock Irish accent.

Asked whether he had the authority to cancel the parade, he joked: “Well, I’m authorised, you know, by St Patrick, that’s who! Oh yes – I have the highest authorisation, sure.”

There are still relatively few cases among New York City’s 8.6m people – an official count of 46 at the point the parade was postponed – the epicenter of New York state’s outbreak appears to be in Westchester county, just north of the city.

A “containment area” is now in force in the the suburb of New Rochelle, while the state’s total number of cases has surpassed 170.