Detroit's Annual Thanksgiving Day Parade Will Go Virtual This Year

(CBS DETROIT) - Detroit's annual Thanksgiving Day will go virtual this year instead of having its usual live performance in downtown next week, according to the Detroit Free Press.

Organizers planned to have roughly 800 participants and 22 floats for the live parade, but Detroit's Chief Public Health Officer Denise Fair said this would violate the state's current public health restrictions on outdoor gatherings of more than 25 people.

The new restrictions are in place due to the rising number of coronavirus cases across Michigan.

According to the Free Press, the parade's lead organizer believed the parade could still happen under the new restrictions as long as no spectators gather to watch, parade participants wore masks and were stretched over 1 1/4 miles.

Parade organizer Tony Michaels said during an interview Thursday, viewers on Thanksgiving morning could enjoy a "virtual parade" but offered no further details.