Despite discussion of a public health concern and the spread of coronavirus, the City Council on Tuesday voted 4-3 to hold the annual parade.

NEWPORT — While the City Council was divided on whether or not to hold the St. Patrick’s Day Parade this year, the audience in the council chamber Tuesday night was overwhelmingly in favor of staging it.

Everyone who spoke during the public comment period gave passionate arguments in favor of holding the parade, and many received loud applause. No one from the public made a case for canceling the parade because of concerns about the spread of caronavirus.

"What I am afraid of is, us setting the precedent now before the season is upon us, that Newport is closed for business, and that we are the first to hit the panic button" said Frank Silvia, a lifelong Newporter and employee at The Landing restaurant, where he is now the manager.

"We should not be looking to Providence for what we should do," he said. "We should stand up for ourselves and what we believe in. If you live this parade every year, if you live in this town and want this town to prosper, hold the parade."

After comments like these, the council voted 4-3 not to revoke the parade permit and allow the event to take place on Saturday.

"Try using your common sense," Jack Milburn, a retired Newport firefighter, told the council members.

"The St. Patrick’s Day Parade is the start of the summer season," he said. "Many merchants are ready to bounce back on that day."

"Don’t choke now," Milburn said. "New York City is one of the biggest cities in the world and they are still holding their parade."

"There is a risk with everything in the world today," said resident John Brennan. "If you quarantine just this event out of fear, you haven’t done a thing to slow down the virus. You have to quarantine everything, or you quarantine nothing."

"If you cancel the parade, be prepared to cancel the schools, be prepared to cancel tourism, cancel everything," Brennan said. "Don’t target just one group because you don’t like the event."

He asked the council to think more about the band members at Thompson Middle School and Rogers High School, who have been practicing for this parade.

"The buses are already rented, the parties already planned, the restaurants and other places will have their events," said longtime resident Roy Lauff. "What you are talking about is canceling one part of the overall event. All the risks are still there."

He referred to health advisories from the state about avoiding community spread of the virus.

"The state advises increased ventilation," Lauff said. "At a parade, you can’t get any better ventilation than that."

"Hold the parade," he added. "Unless you are going to close the bridges and say nobody should come, you are not decreasing the risk that much."

"All the bars and restaurants are going to continue to have their fun," said resident Brian Finn. "We’ll have people stacked like sardines in the bars. If you feel like the virus is a risk to your health, just don’t come to the parade."

"Some people here know that every year after the parade for many, many years, I have many people over my house," said resident Joanne Ritchie. "It’s very important to the core neighborhoods that we continue this parade."

"You’re mistaken if you think people who visit the city [on St. Patrick’s Day] won’t come if there is no parade," she said. "They will come anyway. We have people coming from everywhere. They won’t be able to get their money back if they were staying in hotels. We have to think about the economics here."

"We as Americans have the capacity to make our own choice," said Christopher Bicho, who owns business property in the city. "To the government, we say just sometimes leave us alone. We are adults; we can take care of our families; we take care of our children and we all know what’s right for us. Please give us that right whether or not you agree."

"I am 100% of Irish descent and an American," said Brendan Kelly, a student at Salve Regina University. "The parade is an opportunity to honor our heritage, support local businesses, show appreciation to career people in uniform for their service, and have fun while doing it."

"The activities and things of that nature that take place around the parade are planned," Kelly added. "People will still come here from far and wide. In that spirit, the parade should continue."

The comments seemed to resonate with the council majority.

"We have a lot of events on our docket in the future," said Councilwoman Jeanne-Marie Napolitano after the comment period ended. "Are we going to cancel them, too?"

"I can’t believe we would vote to cancel this parade," said Councilwoman Lynn Underwood Ceglie. "I find that unbelievable."

Councilwoman Kathryn Leonard said at the opening of the debate that the state Department of Health has not clearly said that gatherings like the parade should not take place.

If state officials "felt it was a huge risk, they would say that," Leonard said.

"We have to consider the COVID-19 concerns, but also the economic impact of cancelling the parade," Mayor Jamie Bova said. She said "public health is the priority," but agreed the state did not issue clear written guidelines for public gatherings.

City Manager Joseph J. Nicholson Jr. told the council that Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott, director of the state Department of Public Health, said during a press conference Monday that gatherings of more than 5,000 people should be cancelled. He said he had to listen to her comments more than once to get that, and agreed the state has not followed through with such a recommendation in written guidelines.

Napolitano, Ceglie, Leonard and Bova voted to allow the St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee to keep their parade permit.

Council Vice Chairwoman Susan Taylor said she has family members in Seattle, Washington, where the coronavirus has spread rapidly.

Councilman Justin McLaughlin talked about an extended family member in Boston who was advised to stay home from work because of concerns about the virus spreading.

"I’m not willing to gamble with lives in our community," said Councilwoman Angela McCalla. "This is too risky. There is not a lot of information about dealing with the virus and we don’t have a plan if it comes here."

Taylor, McLaughlin and McCalla voted to revoke the parade permit, but did not prevail.