Ben & Jerry's Postpones Free Cone Day Over Coronavirus Fears
Ben & Jerry’s announced that they are officially postponing their annual Free Cone Day in response to the spread of the coronavirus outbreak.
Since 1979, the ice cream company has hosted Free Cone Day in mid-April to celebrate the anniversary of its founding. This has become a fan-favorite holiday, but to deter large crowds, Ben & Jerry’s is postponing this special day to an undisclosed later date.
“This year, some of our scoop shops in communities around the world will be unable to take part in Free Cone Day due to precautions put in place by local Governments around large public gatherings, considering the increasing presence of COVID-19,” Ben & Jerry’s announced on their website.
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A post shared by Ben & Jerry's (@benandjerrys) on Mar 10, 2020 at 6:01am PDT
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“To stand in solidarity with ice cream lovers everywhere, we have made the difficult decision to postpone Free Cone Day this year. We hope to reschedule our global Free Cone Day event for later in the year.”
Despite the cancellation of Free Cone Day, Ben & Jerry’s scoop shops around the country will remain open for business.
Fans have already expressed their disappointment across social media platforms. One person commented on the Instagram post announcement: “Italy on lockdown? Fine. Coachella postponed? Acceptable. But free cone day changed??? This is where i draw the line!”
Thank you for going the right thing but I’m gonna just sit here and cry.
— Michele (@atatatstat) March 11, 2020
Other fans were sad, but completely understand the decision, saying on Twitter. “Thank you for doing the right thing but i’m gonna just sit here and cry.”
Major events have been postponed due to the spread of COVID-19, including Stagecoach and Coachella.
The increase in cases outside of China led the CDC to urge Americans to start preparing for the virus to spread in the U.S. with the “expectation that this will be bad.”
“It’s not so much of a question of if this will happen in this country anymore but a question of when this will happen,” Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the CDC, said in a press briefing on Feb. 25.
Learn more about how the coronavirus is spreading, and how to keep yourself safe, with our updated map of all the cases across the country.
