COVID-19: Tulips razed in Japan to prevent crowds from gathering

This handout picture taken April 8, 2020 and released from Sakura City on April 20 shows a tulip field managed by Sakura City, Chiba Prefecture. Credit: AFP Photo

Tens of thousands of tulips in full bloom were razed at a Japanese park to prevent crowds from gathering.

The flowers were the centerpiece of a popular annual festival in Sakura city, east of Tokyo, that was canceled this year.

People still gathered to admire the flowers, however, making social distancing difficult.

“We, of course, wish for many people to see our flowers, but this situation is now about human life. It was a heart-wrenching decision, but we had to do it,” Takahiro Kogo, a city official overseeing the park, said