CLEVELAND COUNTY, N.C. — On Thursday, the Cleveland County Fair Board held an emergency meeting to discuss the sharp rise in local COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.
Following a lengthy discussion and the joint recommendation of the Cleveland County Health Department and Atrium Health-Cleveland, the board decided to cancel the upcoming fair set to take place from Sept. 30 to Oct. 10.
“Our priority is the health and safety of the community,” Cleveland County Health Director Tiffany Hansen said.
“As numbers continue to rise and the pandemic continues to unfold, the medical system is being severely impacted, and we are at risk of losing more lives. In the face of this unprecedented situation, the decision to hold this year’s fair had to be reconsidered,” she said.
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“The fair board did not come to this conclusion easily, and we know that people will have mixed emotions, as we all do,” fair board chair Alex Lattimore said.
The Cleveland County Fair began in 1923 and is considered the largest outdoor county agriculture fair in North Carolina, as well as the largest community event in the county.
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