Iranian New Year events cancelled due to virus fears in Lower Mainland

COQUITLAM (NEWS 1130) — The local Iranian-Canadian community is supporting plans to cancel two Persian New Year events scheduled for the coming weeks because of COVID-19.

Now that Iran is a major hub for the virus, concerns over its spread are high in the Persian community. Behzad Abdi with the Tri-Cities Iranian Cultural Society says this is a decision that needed to happen for the safety of the community.

“A lot of people are happy about that and before the cancellations, many, many groups called me and emailed me and asked me to cancel that one because of the safety of the community.”

— Martin MacMahon (@martinmacmahon) March 4, 2020

He says the Nowruz celebration and Fire Festival have both been cancelled. Both events bring in thousands of people and have been held in Coquitlam for several years.

“I think this decision was the best decision in the situation,” he says.

Despite the cancellations, Abdi says he hasn’t noticed any disappointment and the community would rather wait until the summer to hold an event, assuming the virus situation has improved.

In addition to these events in the Tri-Cities, the Canadian Iranian Foundation has announced it’s cancelling this Sunday’s Nowruz festival in Lower Lonsdale.

The local Iranian-Canadian community continues to cancel #Nowruz new year’s events due to #COVID19 concerns: https://t.co/OgIBBkCUXc

— Martin MacMahon (@martinmacmahon) March 4, 2020

Meanwhile, Iran has opted for more drastic measures in an effort to stop transmission, reportedly releasing some 54,000 prisoners from crowded jails, provided they test negative for the virus and post bail. COVID-19 has killed 92 people and the virus has left thousands of people dead and infected more than 92,000 people worldwide.

With files from the Canadian Press