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Some Mummers flouted Philadelphia’s rules canceling their annual New Years parade and nevertheless took to the streets on Friday, many without face masks intended to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
At least two Mummers groups totaling a few hundred people marched through South Philadelphia on Friday morning, dressed in their signature colorful clothes, dancing and singing as they went. Some held signs decrying Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney, who in July of last year canceled the parade and other major events to fight COVID-19 infections.
The cancellations were made in accordance with public health recommendations to limit large gatherings, which are known to transmit the deadly disease.
On social media, other Mummers called on their counterparts to respect the parade’s cancellation, but that hasn’t stopped a handful from flouting the rules. One of the provocative Mummers held up a sign that read: “Tradition, not tyranny”.
Officers from the Philadelphia Police Department monitored the protesters from a distance, but made no attempt to disperse the crowd.
“… it is the city’s policy to avoid unnecessary confrontations in enforcing its COVID-19 emergency orders,” a city spokeswoman told NBC10.
Protesters on Friday included people wearing face masks, but most did not. Masks – along with social distancing and other public health measures – have become an important tool in the fight against COVID-19.
They were ordered not to, but a group of maskless Mummers made their way to 2 Street on New Years Day anyway. Some said they were protecting a Philadelphia tradition; others said they were protesting Mayor Kenney’s shutdown of public events. Reports by Stephania Jimenez of NBC10.
Asked about the lack of masks, one Mummer told NBC10: “You don’t need a mask because it’s not real.”
The coronavirus, however, is very real and very deadly.
He had killed nearly 347,000 people in the United States as of Friday, according to the NBC News COVID-19 tracker. Although the Food and Drug Administration has approved two vaccines, it will take months for the country to inoculate enough people to defeat the virus, and experts urge caution, especially as a new, more contagious variant of the virus emerges. .
The city spokeswoman reminded people that those who gather in large crowds – regardless of the type of event – should get tested five to seven days after, stay away from others for 10 days and continue to monitor symptoms of COVID-19 for 14 days.
The Mummer Parade ushered in the New Year for Philadelphia for over a century. However, in recent years the Mummers have struggled to shake off a bad reputation caused by repeated racist and callous behavior by some members.
Last year, a group of Mummers were kicked out of the parade because at least one member marched down South Broad Street in blackface. In 2016, a group of Mummers made fun of Caitlyn Jenner while another painted their face brown and dressed in ponchos and sombreros, or tacos.
The repeated offensive acts prompted Kenney last year to urge Mummers leaders to provide better surveillance or risk the town attracting support for the parade. Councilor Jamie Gauthier said last year that the Mummers Parade should be overhauled and replaced with a new tradition that celebrates the cultures of the townspeople.
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