The annual Brazos Nights concert series and Fourth on the Brazos celebration have been canceled by the city of Waco as a precaution against COVID-19, as asymptomatic spreaders remain an elusive threat to public health.
Waco Mayor Kyle Deaver announced the cancellation during a press conference Wednesday and stressed along with other local officials the importance of continued social distancing.
“We must continue to be extremely vigilant about physical distancing from anyone who’s not in your household, the use of face coverings, especially in crowded businesses, and regular hand-washing or sanitizing,” Deaver said.
Most people who have contracted COVID-19 have been infected by an asymptomatic carrier, a “silent spreader” with no visible symptoms, Waco Family Health Center CEO Dr. Jackson Griggs said.
“I’d like to wave a flag, jump up and down and shout from the rooftops once again that this accounts for the majority of spread of the novel coronavirus,” Griggs said. “We don’t have a lot of people in our community with fever, chills, dry cough and shortness of breath who are going into restaurants and stores. The virus is getting spread by people who feel great, and I think that’s what’s so insidious and dangerous about this virus.”
McLennan County’s count of confirmed COVID-19 cases held at 92 Wednesday with no new cases reported. Seven patients have active cases, and one remains hospitalized. There had been 3,332 tests conducted in the county as of Monday.
McLennan County Judge Scott Felton said the county has had great success in safeguarding against the virus so far.
“From the conversations and calls I’ve had, I think there is a great deal of relief, seeing that we’re opening up this economy and we’re able to do things on a little bit more of a normal basis,” Felton said.
Though some businesses have reopened as the state eases restrictions, McLennan County remains under emergency orders that stress physical distancing and do not allow social gatherings.
The state will allow hair salons to start reopening Friday. Felton said it is recommended that clients wear face coverings and wait for their appointments in their cars rather than a shared waiting area.
Deaver said it would be largely up to individuals to continue following rules and to report businesses that do not comply with safety measures.
“These rules are not meant to be punitive. These rules are for our safety,” Deaver said. “We have to ask our citizens to be the eyes and ears of the county. If you see something, let us know. Fortunately, our businesses have been really great about complying with these things, and we’re trying to address this more from an education standpoint, rather than being punitive.”
Griggs said asymptomatic spreaders will pose more of a risk as more of society reopens, and face coverings are a way to limit the spread.
“You may be one of those asymptomatic spreaders, so wearing a mask is a way to love your community, to love your neighbor, to protect those who are vulnerable,” Griggs said.
The city parks department is reviewing whether it can safely hold smaller events, but its annual concert series and Fourth of July celebration that bring thousands of people to downtown each year are now out of the question, Parks and Recreation Director Jonathan Cook said in an interview before Wednesday’s press conference.
“Given the situation, we’re really comfortable and confident this is the right decision moving forward,” Cook said. “To get to a point where we could comfortably host 10 to 15 thousand people in a public setting, we think we’re a long way off.”
The Brazos Nights concert series, with free public admission, typically runs through spring and summer and concludes with the Fourth of July celebration, Fourth on the Brazos. Fourth on the Brazos and its fireworks show used to take place in Indian Spring Park, where the Brazos Nights concerts are still held, but outgrew the space about five years ago.
Before the decision to cancel, the unpredictability of the situation also was making it difficult to get musicians under contract, Cook said.
“We were proceeding but there’s just the uncertainty of getting that final execution,” he said. “There’s really just uncertainty on both ends for public events. We got to a point where the timeline was just too tight.”
Each concert typically draws about 5,000 guests to Indian Spring Park in downtown Waco. The first concert was originally slated for April 3, with subsequent concerts lined up for May 1, June 12 and finally July 4, the night of Fourth on the Brazos. The annual Pints in the Park event, a ticketed event at Indian Spring Park that brings in revenue for the concerts and usually draws about 1,000 guests, has also been canceled.
“It’s an unfortunate because both Brazos Nights and Fourth on the Brazos have been part of the community for 30 years,” Cook said.
Under a tentative schedule outlining what might have been, Black Pumas, Strand of Oaks and Ole Lonesome would have played April 3, Mariachi Las Coronelas would have played May 1, Vincent Neil Emerson would have played Pints in the Park on May 16, Foghat would have played June 12, and The Polyphonic Spree would have played July 4. Cook said the department is working with artists on rescheduling, whether for next year’s concert series or for other dates.
“We’re all looking forward to the time we can get back to putting these kinds of events on,” Cook said.
— WACOTRIB