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San Francisco's monthly non-sexual cuddle party for March has been canceled after the city urges practicing 'social distancing' amid the coronavirus outbreak
San Francisco's monthly non-sexual cuddle party for March has been canceled after the city urges practicing 'social distancing' amid the coronavirus outbreak
Katie CanalesMar 10, 2020, 00:53 IST
San Francisco's non-sexual cuddle party for the month of March has been canceled over coronavirus concerns.
These are gatherings held in the city that feature human touch and consent as part of a larger trend called organized intimacy that aims to provide a connection when there otherwise is none.
The canceled event is one of the latest as the city prepares to contain the virus that has already been confirmed to have infected two people.
The coronavirus outbreak means that shaking hands is a no-no and "social distancing" has become a vital new habit.
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And for regulars of one monthly San Francisco gathering, the impact of the outbreak is striking especially close to home: San Francisco's non-sexual cuddle party has been canceled.
The organizer of the Cuddle Party organization's San Francisco branch, Dr. Yoni Alkan, told Business Insider that the next scheduled cuddle party, slated for Saturday, March 14, has been canceled due to coronavirus concerns. Alkan said the March event is the only one to be canceled "for now" in an effort to follow the city's recommendation to avoid mass gatherings and practice social distancing.
These events are intimate, non-sexual gatherings lasting three to four hours where strangers meet, practice consent, and enjoy human touch at an undisclosed private venue in San Francisco's Richmond District. They're part of a trend in the city known as organized intimacy and are generally held once a month, with around 30 people typically in attendance.
As the coronavirus continues to spread, city officials are taking steps to contain the coronavirus disease, known as COVID-19.
Maylor London Breed declared a state of emergency on February 25 as a means to prepare in the event that the virus hits the city. On March 5, two cases of the virus were confirmed in San Francisco, with both likely the result of community spread or transmission. Neither patient had visited coronavirus-stricken countries prior to falling ill.
The San Francisco Department of Public Health also announced that there are six "presumptive" cases of the virus in the city, with all six patients isolated in their homes and in "good condition."
Offices are closing temporarily and companies are asking employees to work from home in an attempt to contain the disease.
And the city of San Francisco just banned non-essential group events held in city-owned facilities for two weeks as concerns of the coronavirus disease continue to rise.
The order went into effect on Saturday as the city attempts to contain the virus-spread disease, known as COVID-19, and will end on March 20.
A "non-essential group event" is defined as a gathering of 50 people for social, cultural, or entertainment events "where people are not separated by physical space of at least four feet," or about arm's length, according to NBC Bay Area.
The facilities affected by the order include City Hall, the San Francisco Public Library, the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre, and Moscone Center, a venue in the city's SOMA district where many tech conferences are usually held. Symphony events and ballet performances are among the events being canceled, and the city's upcoming St. Patrick's Day Parade has been postponed
While events are being canceled, these venues are still allowed to remain open.
There are at least 554 confirmed cases in the US, with 21 reported deaths.
One of them was an elderly person in Sacramento, California. The person had just returned from a cruise aboard the Grand Princess cruise ship, where 21 passengers have since been tested for and confirmed to have been infected by the virus. The ship is set to dock in Oakland Monday.
The Grand Princess is not to be confused with the Diamond Princess, a cruise ship whose passengers were quarantined first onboard in Japan and then at the Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield on the outskirts of the Bay Area.
