Fiesta San Antonio Postponed Due to COVID-19 Trends
February 2, 2021 - San Antonio
The Fiesta 2021 season has been postponed, and instead will be held from June 17 to 27 with limited events. Photo: B. Kay Richter.
By: Valeria Torrealba - Senior Reporter, San Antonio Sentinel
The City of San Antonio (CoSA) and the Fiesta San Antonio Commission (FSAC) have decided to postpone the 2021 Fiesta event. The traditional event, originally set to take place in April, will instead be held from June 17 until June 27. The April event had occurred every year without fail since World War II but the pandemic forced a virtual-only celebration last year. The most recent decision comes amidst a closer look at COVID-19 numbers across the city.
“After consulting with the City and Dr. Makary, Fiesta Commission’s consultant, the Fiesta San Antonio Commission Executive Committee supports the decision to postpone Fiesta until June,” said Baltazar (Walter) Serna, President of the Fiesta San Antonio Commission. “We have been monitoring the science and data and believe postponing Fiesta until June is the correct thing to do, at this time. Our number one goal is to assure the safety of our attendees, volunteers, staff and community.”
The Fiesta Commission partnered with Dr. Makary in early January. Makary is a professor of health policy at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, a professor of surgery at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and an expert on public health policy. He has assisted H-E-B and the San Antonio Spurs with their decision making to address COVID-19 related issues.
“Delaying Fiesta 2021 until June puts safety first, and it is the right move for our community,” Mayor Ron Nirenberg said. “Through the ongoing vaccination program and our continuing efforts to suppress COVID-19, we are working to be in a better position by June. We are deeply appreciative of the Fiesta San Antonio Commission’s willingness to work with the city’s health professionals to ensure San Antonians’ safety.”
In order to maintain health and safety guidelines, the Fiesta Commision will be canceling the following events: Battle of Flowers Parade (Day Parade) and Fiesta Flambeau Parade (Night Parade). Officials from the St. Mary’s Oyster Bake announced the cancellation of their event last week.
With a complicated and slow rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, the likelihood of hosting 40,000 people a day in downtown San Antonio by June is unlikely, according to Dr. Cherise Rohr-Allegrini, an Infectious Disease Epidemiologist, wrote in a Twitter thread.
“While we all hope to "get back to normal," I question the likelihood that in 5 months we'll get to the point of having 10-day, 40,000 people [at one event], 100+ event Fiesta,” Dr. Rohr-Allegrini said. “What threshold of cases and herd immunity do we need for this to be "safe?"”
“While we all hope to "get back to normal," I question the likelihood that in 5 months we'll get to the point of having 10-day, 40,000 people [at one event], 100+ event Fiesta. What threshold of cases and herd immunity do we need for this to be "safe?" - Dr. Cherise Rohr-Allegrini
One of the few events which had announced a cancellation prior to Fiesta 2021’s postponement was the St. Mary’s Oyster Bake. Photo: B. Kay Richter.
Cases in San Antonio have been declining over the last 14 days. However, it does not ensure a constant downward thread — as the pattern showed back in Aug. of 2020. San Antonio currently has a 14% positive COVID-19 test rate with mass vaccinations underway for Tier 1A and 1B individuals. As Dr. Rohr-Allegrini explained, San Antonio currently shows a downward trend towards Level 3, which still advises against mass gatherings; however, it does not guarantee that the city will be on the right path to celebrate Fiesta.
The Alamodome mass vaccination site has alerted recipients of a delay in the Feb. 2 shipment of vaccines, pushing back the dates for those scheduled to get a second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine to Feb. 16-18, over a week later than the originally scheduled dates.
“We are sorry for the inconvenience, but the doses that have been allocated to us by the state have not arrived at this time,” Dr. Anita Kurian, Assistant Director of Communicable Diseases at Metro Health, said. “We understand that some may be concerned about the extended time between their second dose but we are within CDC guidelines to ensure the vaccine will still work with no issues. Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines may be scheduled for administration up to 6 weeks [42 days] after the first dose.”
Residents of the City of San Antonio should continue to practice CDC health and safety guidelines in order to curb the spread of COVID-19 in Bexar County. More information can be found here.
Fiesta Updates: What’s Cancelled and What’s Postponed
Postponed until June 17-27:
Fiesta as a whole. No events in April.
Cancelled:
Oyster Bake at St. Mary’s University
Battle of Flowers Parade (Day Parade)
Fiesta Flambeau Parade (Night Parade)
Valeria Torrealba is an opinions columnist and public relations assistant at the University Star, a student publication of Texas State University. Email her at reporter@sasentinel.com