The city of Southlake announced March 12 that its Celebrate Southlake event has been postponed due to concerns surrounding the novel coronavirus. The event had originally been scheduled for March 20-22.
“The leadership team has evaluated the current situation and reviewed advice from federal, state and county experts,” Assistant City Manager Alison Ortowski said in a statement. “It’s prudent to limit large public gatherings at this time since we know the virus is present in our area and potentially spreading.”
If possible, the city plans to hold Celebrate Southlake at a later date this year, according the announcement.
“We strongly believe it will be more successful if offered at a time when we can come together and enjoy community fellowship worry-free,” Ortowski said in the statement.
The city of Grapevine is also examining its sick leave policies and telework capabilities and is cutting back on in-person meetings in an effort to slow the spread of the virus, officials said.
Colleyville is putting processes in place to reduce physical touch should the need arise, the city said in a news release. Measures the city is considering include installing temporary partitions between employees and customers, taking electronically submitted comments for public meetings and monitoring large public events.
At this time no other events in Grapevine, Colleyville or Southlake have been affected by the coronavirus.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend “community-based interventions” to help slow the spread of the virus. These can include school dismissals, event cancellations, social distancing and creating employee plans to work remotely.
Ultimately, the decision to use these measures will be made by local and state officials after consulting with federal officials, according to the CDC website.
