CHICAGO — The timing is not the best. Immigration-rights rallies are set for today as health officials try to clamp down on a swine-flu epidemic with roots in the same country as many of the expected demonstrators: Mexico.
Public health officials on Thursday had not advised canceling large-scale events unless they were specifically tied to an institution or location with a laboratory-confirmed case of the illness. They urged people to stay home if they are sick.
Organizers of the May Day rallies, which have drawn thousands and even hundreds of thousands of people in recent years, said they would look to recommendations from public health officials about whether to cancel or modify the events.
“We’re monitoring the situation to make sure that anything that is going to be conducive to the health and safety of communities is observed,” said Clarissa Martinez, a director for the National Council of La Raza.
Crowds today were expected to be about the same as last year. In Chicago, which has had the nation’s largest marches in recent years, about 15,000 participated in 2008. Thousands also were expected at events today in Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Seattle and other cities. Health officials urged participants to use common sense.
In Colorado, a unity march is planned in Greeley at 1 p.m. Saturday, beginning at Island Grove Regional Park.
