Bataan Memorial Death March cancelled

Out of an abundance of caution, the U.S. Army made the decision to cancel this year's Bataan Memorial Death March scheduled for March 15, in response to the  COVID-19 threat.

"We apologize for any inconvenience this will cause to our guests, race participants, volunteers, sponsors and other stakeholders, many of whom are traveling from outside the state of New Mexico.," states a press release out of White Sands Missile Range.

The Army is taking precautionary measures to protect the health of the force and the march's participants, and is following the recommendations from the Center for Disease Control to cancel gatherings of 250 participants or more in locations where there is minimal to moderate threat of the virus  spreading.

"The safety of our Soldiers, civilians, families and the march's participants is our top priority," the release says.

Currently, there are no known COVID-19 cases reported at White Sands Missile  Range, New Mexico, and the latest information from the CDC is the threat to public health and the risk of exposure to the virus remains low here.

Military and public health officials have not seen evidence of COVID-19  spreading here at this time.

Additional information on preventive measures can be found on the Bataan Memorial Death March website: www.bataanmarch.com. Another excellent source for up-to-date information on the COVID-19 virus in cdc.gov/coronavirus. 

The cancelation of the Bataan Memorial Death March includes the cancelation of the music concert scheduled to be held at the Pan American Center on March 13.

The cancelation of the march includes the cancelation of all associated events. This includes the Lee Brice and Gary Allan performances, as well as  the various Bataan seminars and panels scheduled to be held at the Las  Cruces Convention Center, and the Bataan film showings scheduled on White  Sands Missile Range.