Radio City Rockettes cancel rest of season due to COVID-19

Dec. 17 (UPI) -- The Radio City Rockettes on Friday canceled the rest of their Christmas Spectacular season at New York's Radio City Music Hall due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The announcement came hours after the performance group initially canceled Friday's four shows due to breakthrough cases of COVID-19 among the cast.

"We regret that we are unable to continue the Christmas Spectacular this season due to increasing challenges from the pandemic," the Rockettes said in a statement on their website. "We had hoped we could make it through the season and are honored to have hosted hundreds of thousands of fans at more than 100 shows over the last seven weeks. We have loved bringing back this cherished tradition that helps usher in the holiday season in New York City and look forward to welcoming fans back to Radio City Music Hall in 2022."

Tickets already purchased for the shows will be fully refunded at the point of purchase.

Broadway's Moulin Rouge! also canceled its Friday show due to a positive COVID-19 test from within the show's company.

The cancelations come amid a rising number of COVID-19 cases over the past several weeks, particularly in New York City. City officials said Thursday the COVID-19 positivity rate doubled in three days.

The United States recorded 156,000 new cases Thursday and more than 1,000 deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.