MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Ireland has decided to cancel St Patrick's Day on March 17

But the government moved to cancel the festivities because of fears over the spread of COVID-19. Ireland currently has 21 confirmed cases.

The Irish government will cancel this year's St Patrick's Day Parade because of the coronavirus outbreak, state broadcaster RTE and other media said on Monday. The annual parade celebrating the country's patron saint regularly attracts hundreds of thousands of people to the Irish capital and was to have been held on Mar 17.

Last year an estimated 500,000 people attended the event. But the government moved to cancel the festivities because of fears over the spread of COVID-19. Ireland currently has 21 confirmed cases.

RTE said the decision was made by a cabinet sub-committee coordinating Ireland's response. A news conference announcing the measures was expected later Monday.

The Irish Times newspaper meanwhile reported that all parades would be shelved across the country.

Earlier, Ireland's second city, Cork, announced the cancellation of its St Patrick's Day Parade after conducting a risk assessment based on World Health Organization recommendations.

Cork City Council said it was “not in a position to provide the necessary assurances in relation to current WHO guidelines”.

”Both the Lord Mayor and (council) chief executive agreed that the welfare of attendees and participants is the primary concern and so ... made a decision to cancel this year's parade,” it added.

St Patrick's Day Parades were previously cancelled in 2001 during an outbreak of foot and mouth disease.

Ireland's Six Nations rugby union fixture with France in Paris was postponed earlier on Monday, after the French government on Sunday banned all public gatherings of more than 1,000 people. Another scheduled fixture in the tournament between Ireland and Italy in Dublin was cancelled last month on public health grounds.