The City of Superior has canceled the Fourth of July fireworks scheduled for Saturday night, citing the rapidly increasing cases of COVID-19 in Douglas County.
On Friday, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services reported two new cases in Douglas County, bringing the total number of cases in the county to 39.
The county has seen 19 new cases in the last eight days, nearly doubling its total of 20 cases recorded up until June 25. Prior to June 25, the county went nearly three weeks without a new case of the illness.
"The decision to cancel the fireworks show this year was made to help ensure the safety of our community members during the recent increase in positive COVID-19 cases in Douglas County," the city said in a news release Friday afternoon. "Although citizens and spectators were being encouraged to stay in or near their vehicles to observe the fireworks, this could not be guaranteed."
The city said the decision was made in consultation with Wisconsin Department of Health Services and Douglas County Public Health.
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Several bars in Superior have temporarily closed this week after people associated with the locations tested positive for COVID-19.
"I have cancelled the 4th of July fireworks show. While I had hoped we would be able to safely hold this event, the recent and rapid rise in local cases of COVID-19 and advice from public health professionals demands more caution," Superior Mayor Jim Paine wrote on Facebook . "Superior’s Independence Day celebration is very important to me and I’ve been working to improve it each year. But your health and safety is much more valuable. So this will just have to be a year of backyard cookouts and an evening of patriotic and historical movies and we’ll make next year better than ever."
