Friday the 13th. A farcical day of potential disaster for those who believe in such things.
This Friday the 13th, however, comes in the middle of what is now a global pandemic created by the coronavirus.
The Floyd Country Store has The Jamboree on this Friday night, and postponed an appearance Saturday of the Lonesome River Band because of the coronavirus threat and the state of emergency declared by the governor:
In light of the latest developments with the coronavirus and the State of Emergency declared by the Governor, we are canceling the weekend’s ticketed events: The Friday Night Jamboree and Saturday’s Lonesome River Band concert. The Lonesome River Band show will be postponed to a later date, and we will be in touch with all ticket holders with more information.
We will stay open Friday, March 13 until 9:00pm with food and free live music by Gate 10 and The New Macedon Rangers. Guests can still come and enjoy live music in Floyd but in a much more relaxed atmosphere.
Saturday, March 14 we will be open from 10:00am-9:00pm, Americana Afternoons will be canceled, though there may be some music. Sunday’s music jam is still on.
Worries over the virus that has killed more than 5,000 people and infected at least 135,866 around the world have caused the NCCA to cancel “March Madness” tournaments, the National Basketball Association to suspend its season and major league baseball to scrap pre-season games and delay the start of this year’s season.
In New York, Broadway shuttered its theaters. NASCAR plans to run races without fans in its stands.
College and university students heading out for spring break may be told to stay home instead of returning to class next month. Virginia Tech and other campuses are considering online classes instead of students in classrooms.
In Virginia, Gov. Ralph Northam has declared a state of emergency in the Old Dominion with 18 people in what is called “a presumptive positive or confirmed cases of coronavirus.
So far, none of those infections are found in Southwestern Virginia — the only area of the state that does not have even one case.
“Our responsibility to take this seriously and do our part to help limit the spread of this disease,” Northam told a press conference in Richmond Thursday.
Our top priority is to make sure Virginians stay safe and healthy, and that our response to this situation leaves no one behind. From our health department to our schools, to our hospitals, to our transit systems, Virginia’s agencies and institutions have been thoroughly planning for every scenario. This emergency declaration will ensure we can continue to prepare for and appropriately respond to Virginians’ needs during this time.
Northam says Virginia is currently limited to just 500 testing kids from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and may turn to private labs to provide more capability.
Carilion Clinic has posted information on its website under the heading of “Facts, not fear.”
“We are working to monitor and prepare for any potential COVID-19 patients in our region,” Carilion says in a statement. “There have been no confirmed cases in Southwest Virginia.”
We have friends who say they are staying in and avoiding crowds, even a weekly trip out for breakfast with others, because of virus fears.
This comes on Friday the 13th and a St. Patricks Day weekend.
Longwood College is closed right now after a student there came down with the virus. That infection, in Farmville, is the closet one yet to Floyd County.
School systems around Virginia, including Floyd County, have plans in place to deal with the possibility of the virus showing up in classrooms or events.
It’s Friday, the 13th for real. Let’s be careful out there.