The Texas State Fair has been canceled for the first time since World War II.
Officials said Tuesday that the event will not take place in 2020 as the Lone Star state continues to face a new wave of coronavirus cases, according to The Dallas Morning News.
“In the current climate of COVID-19, there is no feasible way for the Fair to put proper precautions in place while maintaining the Fair environment you know and love,” State Fair of Texas board chair Gina Norris said.
“While we cannot predict what the COVID-19 pandemic will look like in September, the recent surge in positive cases is troubling for all of North Texas. The safest and most responsible decision we could make for all involved at this point in our 134-year history is to take a hiatus for the 2020 season.”
Texas has seen 210,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus with 2,700 deaths with the illness.
The State Fair has only been canceled eight times since it started in 1886. The first cancellation was in 1918 at the end of World War I, 1935-1937 during the Texas Centennial Exposition and the Pan American Exposition and finally 1942-1945 to help with the war effort.
On Monday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo also said in his daily press conference that he was canceling the New York State Fair due to the pandemic.
“That makes me personally very unhappy, but that is where we are.”
