NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — Navy Region Mid-Atlantic announced on Friday that due to the coronavirus pandemic, the U.S. Navy has canceled Fleet Week New York 2020.
The cancelation comes in response to coronavirus relief efforts while continuing to eliminate the spread of the virus. This will also allow the Navy to focus its efforts on preparing the USNS Comfort hospital ship for deployment to New York City.
“We did not come to this decision lightly, but feel it is necessary to cancel this year’s Fleet Week New York to help mitigate further spread of the virus,” said Rear Adm. Charles W. Rock, Commander, Navy Region Mid-Atlantic in a release on Friday. “Fleet Week is a tremendous partnership between the people of New York City and our Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard team. We appreciate your understanding during these challenging circumstances.”
Currently, there are no plans to postpone or reschedule the event to a later date and this is the first time it has been canceled since 2013 as a result of budget shortfalls.
This is one of many steps the Navy is taking to mitigate the spread of the virus.
