Another local event has been postponed due to COVID-19 concerns.
The 2020 Climb for Cancer up the cutbanks of the Nechako River has been postponed to a later date, organizers say.
A late summer date is being kept in mind, dependant on the ongoing situation.
“Due to the rapidly evolving nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is difficult at this point to pick a new date for the Climb for Cancer,” Planning Committee Chair Doug Bell says in a release.
“That being said, I want to assure people that the Climb for Cancer will go ahead at a later date and that all donations raised to date and moving forward will go to the Kordyban Lodge.”
Funds raised from the event each year go to the Kordyban Lodge, which houses cancer patients in need of care.
The lodge remains open, but is operating with additional measures including office staff working from home, limitations on visitors, increased screening and infection control measures based on guidance from public health officials as well as transitioning to single occupancy rooms.
The sig and prosthesis banks are also temporarily closed as social distancing is not possible in these lodge areas.
"The Canadian Cancer Society is assessing the situation daily and will prepare for the possibility that plans might need to change," the release adds.
The Kordyban Lodge has an annual operating budget of around $1 million and donations help cover the costs associated with providing a safe and affordable home-away-from-home for people from central and northern B.C. communities receiving cancer treatment in Prince George.
The Climb for Cancer committee is still hoping to garner $75,000 for the fifth annual event, which is $10,000 more than the amount raised in 2019 of $65,000.
