The Scituate St. Patrick’s Day Parade scheduled for Sunday, March 15, has been postponed indefinitely.

Amid concerns of the coronavirus, COVID-19, and after the Boston St. Patrick’s Day Parade had been canceled, the Scituate Board of Selectmen, along with the town administrator, called an emergency selectmen meeting on Wednesday, March 11, to decide whether to hold the parade as planned.

After speaking with a representative of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, as well as Senator Patrick O’Connor, Town Administrator Jim Boudreau said the advice remains the same, which is to follow the governor’s urging to cancel or postpone any large events at this time.

“We agree with that, and given the unknown with the virus, we should make the decision to postpone or cancel for this Sunday,” Boudreau said, adding he learned earlier that Abington had canceled its St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

Scituate Fire Chief John Murphy, who is also the town’s emergency management director, agreed, as did Scituate Board of Health Director Andrew Scheele.

Members of the board of selectmen were also in agreement.

“It’s too bad, we love the parade but it would be really irresponsible for us to do it,” said Selectmen Chairman Tony Vegnani. “We can’t really be emotional about it, we have to do what’s in the best interest of all the citizens.”

Selectman Maura Curran spoke to parade organizer Ed Kelley, who was at the meeting, and his team in acknowledging how much work they’ve put into the parade.

“Please know I don’t take this lightly, and I know none of my colleagues do either,” she said.

Due to the fact that no one can predict when the virus will no longer pose a threat to people, a new date for the parade could not be determined.

Kelley also agreed to postpone the parade indefinitely.

“We’ll do this at another time if this clears up,” he said. “It is my hope, my own personal thought, this virus will just be a bad memory and maybe we can do a Halfway to St. Paddy’s Day parade.”

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