Oktoberfest, the world’s largest beer festival, has just been canceled over the fear of coronavirus spread. While this may disappoint some beer lovers, the news doesn’t come as a surprise, isn’t it?

The 2-weeks-long festival, which has been held annually in Germany for 210 years, often attracts around 6 million visitors every year. But having such a huge crowd gathered in one place could mean social distancing is impossible.

Photo source: The Guardian

“Living with coronavirus means living carefully,” said Markus Söder, the premier of Bavaria, a southern German state. “As long as there is no vaccination, we need to be very sensible. We are in mutual agreement that the risk is quite simply too high... compromises will not help.”

Dieter Reiter, the mayor of Munich, the Bavarian capital where the festival takes place said that the decision is a “bitter pill”. He also said, “the risk of festival-goers, who sit packed closely together in large beer tents, infecting each other was high.”

Source: The Guardian

Cover photo: The Guardian || Pogled