FROM STAFF REPORTS

Organizers of the 2020 Statesville Christmas Parade announced Sunday that the parade had been canceled due to COVID-19.

“With a heavy heart we must announce our decision to cancel this year’s Statesville Christmas Parade,” Harmony Masonic Lodge #299 AF & AM said in a statement.

“Our main concern is the health and well being of all of our participants and volunteers as well as the general public. Thank you for understanding. Have a safe and Merry Christmas. We hope to see you all next year.”

The parade had been scheduled for Sunday, December 8.

Organizers of the Troutman and Mooresville Christmas parades also canceled this year’s events, citing COVID-129 concerns.

According to the Iredell County Health Department, there have been more than 5,600 laboratory confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the county since the pandeic began in March.

Sixty-four deaths in the county have been attributed to the novel coronavirus, and more than 1,200 people are isolating at home after testing positive, according to the latest health department report.