State Fair of Texas cancelled for first time since WWII due to coronavirus pandemic

The 2020 State Fair of Texas has officially been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic –  marking the first time since WWII that the annual event will not be held.

The decision was made Tuesday in a vote by the fair's board of directors.

"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," board Chairwoman 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,” she also said.

The announcement noted that the cancellation does not necessarily mean that beloved college football games will also be cancelled. The games would have been held during the fair at the Cotton Bowl which is on the fairgrounds.

"The NCAA, respective conferences, and participating universities – the University of Texas & University of Oklahoma and Prairie View A&M University & Grambling State University – will be in charge of making decisions regarding the football games that occur at Cotton Bowl Stadium during this unprecedented time of COVID-19," the press release noted. "Should football be played this fall, the schools will be playing in the Cotton Bowl as scheduled, despite the cancellation of the 2020 State Fair."

According to Johns Hopkins University there have been nearly 3 million confirmed coronavirus cases in the U.S. and more than 130,000 deaths.