Advertisement
  1. News
  2. /
  3. Health

Miami’s Calle Ocho Festival has been canceled over coronavirus fears

The festival, which was scheduled for March 15, attracts hundreds of thousands of people each year to heart of Little Havana.
Thousands fill the streets of SW 8th Street for the Carnival Miami Calle Ocho festival in Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood. [CARL JUSTE | Miami Herald]
Thousands fill the streets of SW 8th Street for the Carnival Miami Calle Ocho festival in Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood. [CARL JUSTE | Miami Herald]
By By Joey Flechas
Published Yesterday
Updated Yesterday

Coronavirus cases have been confirmed in the Tampa Bay area. For the latest news on the outbreak, go to our coronavirus page, which we are updating regularly. You also can sign up for our DayStarter newsletter to have the day’s news sent right to your inbox each morning for free.

• • •

Miami Herald

Miami elected officials and administrators announced that this year’s Calle Ocho Music Festival, part of Carnaval Miami and sponsored by Kiwanis of Little Havana, will be canceled over the potential spread of coronavirus.

Multiple sources confirmed with the Miami Herald that the decision was finalized early Friday before a news conference where city leaders announced that Ultra Music Festival would be canceled. Fifteen minutes before the 9 a.m. conference, Miami Commissioner Manolo Reyes tweeted the Calle Ocho Festival cancellation announcement.

Calle Ocho Festival, which was sceduled for March 15, attracts hundreds of thousands of people each year to heart of Little Havana. Officials close a stretch of Southwest Eighth Street for music performances, food vendors and other activities.

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez confirmed the announcement at the news conference, telling reporters the city will be denying organizers of the Calle Ocho Festival the special events permit necessary to stage the event.

Attorney Jorge Fernandez, of the Kiwanis Club of Miami, told reporters that the event will likely not be postponed for later this year because of major logistical challenges. The festival raises money for social programs that the Kiwanis Club sponsors, so the cancellation will leave a gap in funding, according to Fernandez.

“Obviously we are disappointed in the city of Miami’s decision not to allow the Calle Ocho Music Festival to go forward this year,” Fernandez said. “The effect this will have on the Kiwanis Club of Little Havana will be detrimental to the organization’s ability to provide services and programs to underserved kids in the city during the upcoming year.”

Commissioner Joe Carollo, whose district includes Little Havana, Suarez and Commissioner Ken Russell signaled that the city will explore options to suppor the Kiwanis Club in light of the cancellation.

• • •

Tampa Bay Times coronavirus guide

Q&A: The latest and all your questions answered.

PROTECT YOURSELF: Household cleaners can kill the virus on most surfaces, including your phone screen.

BE PREPARED: Guidelines for essentials to keep in your home should you have to stay inside.

FACE MASKS: They offer some protection, but studies debate their effectiveness.

WORKPLACE RISK: A list of five things employers could be doing to help curb the spread of the disease.

READER BEWARE: Look out for bad information as false claims are spreading online.

We’re working hard to bring you the latest news on coronavirus in Florida. This effort takes a lot of resources to gather and update. If you haven’t already subscribed, please consider buying a print or digital subscription.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE

  1. International Ice Hockey Federation: Women’s worlds in Canada are canceled
    54 minutes ago• Lightning
    In this April 9, 2013, file photo, United States' Kacey Bellamy, Julie Chu and Meghan Duggan, from left, stand with IIHF president Rene Fasel as they are presented with the trophy after the U.S. team defeated Canada 3-2 in the gold medal game at the women's ice hockey world championships in Ottawa, Ontario. The women’s world hockey championships in Canada have been canceled because of the coronavirus. [SEAN KILPATRICK | AP]
  2. March Madness will go on in Tampa and elsewhere, but without fans?
    3 hours ago• Sports
    In this 2011 file photo, Florida's Patric Young dunks during an NCAA Tournament game in Tampa. [ZUPPA, CHRIS | St. Petersburg Times]
  3. Watch Rick Scott call out Ron DeSantis on coronavirus: ‘When I was governor...’
    4 hours ago• Health
    U.S. Sen. Rick Scott appeared on Fox News on Saturday morning, calling out the way Florida has disclosed information on coronavirus. [Twitter]
  4. DeSantis learned of coronavirus death a day later
    5 hours ago• Health
    Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks about the COVID-19 virus during a news conference at the Florida Department of Health on Monday, March 2, 2020, in Miami. Florida officials are trying to reassure residents that the risk posed by a new strain of coronavirus remains low, despite revelations that two people have become the first in the state to be confirmed to have the virus. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson) [BRYNN ANDERSON | AP]
  5. Can vulnerable Florida contain coronavirus? Experts are concerned.
    6 hours ago• Health
    First responders and military members hold Florida state flags during inauguration ceremonies for Gov. Ron DeSantis in Tallahassee. Two years into his term, DeSantis is leading an effort to limit the spread of the coronavirus, while health analysts voice concern over the state's ability to contain the pandemic. [SCOTT KEELER | Times (2018)]
  6. With South By Southwest canceled due to coronavirus, Tampa bands left in lurch
    Earlier today• Health
    Tampa's Fever Beam was scheduled to play South By Southwest 2020 before the festival was canceled due to concerns over coronavirus. [Robert Dennard]
  7. The heat is on: Will Florida’s warm weather help or hurt coronavirus?
    Earlier today• Health
    Beachgoers fill Clearwater Beach in March 2019 at the peak of the spring break tourism season.
  8. U.S. cruise ship has 21 cases of coronavirus. Where should it go?
    Earlier today• Health
    In this image from video, provided by the California National Guard, a helicopter carrying airmen with the 129th Rescue Wing flies over the Grand Princess cruise ship off the coast of California Thursday, March 5, 2020. Scrambling to keep the coronavirus at bay, officials ordered a cruise ship with 3,500 people aboard to stay back from the California coast Thursday until passengers and crew can be tested, after a traveler from its previous voyage died of the disease and at least two others became infected. Airmen lowered test kits onto the 951-foot (290-meter) Grand Princess by rope as the vessel lay at anchor off Northern California, and authorities said the results would be available on Friday. Princess Cruise Lines said fewer than 100 people aboard had been identified for testing. (California National Guard via AP) [AP]
  9. If coronavirus closes Florida schools, how will kids learn?
    Earlier today• Health
    Dan Lafferty, a teacher with Florida Virtual School, is seen on a student's laptop as they video conference at the student's home. Such interactions might become more common if schools decide to close because of coronavirus and depend on e-learning to keep classes going. [CHRIS URSO | Times]
  10. First Florida coronavirus deaths, new cases in Lee, Charlotte
    Earlier today• Health
    Lieutenant Governor Jeanette Nu–ez, left, and State Surgeon General Dr. Scott Rivkees, looks on while Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks about the confirmed coronavirus cases in the state at the at the Florida Department of Health Laboratory in Tampa, Florida on March 2, 2020. [OCTAVIO JONES | Times]
  11. Coronavirus: Planes may not be the sick factories we think.
    Earlier today• Health
    Delta planes parked on the tarmac at Tampa International Airport on Tuesday. A Hillsborough County woman who flew through the airport on Delta and was later diagnosed with coronavirus. [DOUGLAS R. CLIFFORD | Times]
  12. Tampa Bay’s first-responders plan, prepare for coronavirus fears
    Earlier today• Health
    Hillsborough Fire Rescue Quality Management Section Chief Jeremy Fischler sets up an AeroClave machine, which disperses a disinfectant that sanitizes an ambulance during a demonstration Friday at the East Lake Fire Station No. 32. The machine and disinfectant will be used by the agency if ambulances are used to transport patients who test positive for the coronavirus. "It's like a giant bug bomb," said Fischler. We want the disinfectant to get into all of the nooks and crannies." [SCOTT KEELER | TAMPA BAY TIMES]
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement