Christmas Parade In Gloucester Township Cancelled Amid Pandemic

GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, NJ — The Blackwood Fire Company’s annual Christmas Parade is the latest Gloucester Township event to fall victim to the coronavirus pandemic. The fire department recently announced the cancellation on its Facebook page.

“With the current state of the pandemic and having to properly maintain social distancing practices we felt it was best to cancel the parade for this year,” the department said in its announcement. “There is a lot of work behind the scenes that goes into the parade, especially the night of, and with the amount of people it takes to properly make this parade a success, along with the amount of people that attend every year we felt the responsible thing for us to do is cancel it.”

Earlier in the fall, the township announced the cancellation of its annual Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration, as well as its Pumpkin Festival, Trunk-or-Treat, Food and Craft Beer Festival and Drive-in Movie Night events. Read more here: Gloucester Twp. Cancels Fall Events Amid Coronavirus Pandemic

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In the spring, Gloucester Township Day, National Night Out and the township's 325th Anniversary Celebration were all canceled.

One thing that has not been cancelled is Halloween. Trick-or-treating in Gloucester Township is still scheduled to take place on Oct. 31, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Read more here: Gloucester Twp. Trick-Or-Treating Hours A Recommendation: Officials

“We absolutely understand that our parade is a tradition for many families to attend together, as it is a tradition for our families to come together and help decorate and set up for the parade,” the fire department said. “We love and appreciate the support from the community, so we are already looking forward to next year. We hope everyone understands and can support this hard decision that had to be made.”

As of Thursday, there have been 1,203 cases of the coronavirus in Gloucester Township since the beginning of the pandemic. Sixty-two Gloucester Township residents have died as a result of the coronavirus.

Countywide, there have been 11,843 cases of the coronavirus in Camden County with 566 confirmed deaths. Trace investigations are underway in all new cases.

“We are continuing to see the number of new cases steadily rise," Camden County Freeholder Director Louis Cappelli Jr. said. "Thirteen days this month have already seen daily totals greater than 50, after we had a single day total that high just once throughout all of September. The good news is that when COVID-19 was spreading rapidly in the spring, it took weeks before we could reliably track its spread. Now we have the capability to see these updates every day, and that gives us the ability to respond much faster. We can flatten the curve again, but we need everyone to refrain from hosting or attending indoor gatherings, wear your mask whenever you are around others, and work with our contact tracing team when they call.”

See related: NJ Tops 1K Daily COVID-19 Cases Again But No Reopening 'Reversal'