Safari Zone St. Louis postponed over coronavirus concerns

Niantic has made the decision to postpone the Pokémon GO Safari Zone St. Louis event over concerns regarding COVID-19, also known as novel coronavirus.

The event was originally set to take place in Tower Grove Park, St. Louis, Missouri, and run from Friday the 27th until Sunday the 29th of March, 2020.

A new date for the event has yet to be set, but Niantic says that it’s currently looking into alternate dates within the next 12 months.

If you’ve purchased a ticket for the event and want a refund, you can request one using the Pokémon GO app. To do so, just follow the steps below:

1. From the Map View, open the Main Menu.
2. Tap Settings at the top right.
3. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and select “Get Support.”
   • If on iOS: tap “Contact Us” in the upper right corner.
   • If on Android: tap the message bubble icon.

The deadline to request a refund is March 25th, 2020, at 11:59pm PT. If you choose not to request a refund, you can use your ticket for the rescheduled Safari Zone St. Louis date.

Niantic says that those who choose to keep their tickets will still get to experience all the perks of the event from the comfort of their own home. If you want to keep your ticket, all you have to do is not request a refund.

The company will activate the exclusive Safari Zone Pokémon encounters – consisting of Mankey, Unown S, Teddiursa, Snivy, Ferroseed, and even a Chatot – and Special Research globally during the originally scheduled event hours. Just note that only people who have tickets will get to experience this.

The next two Pokémon GO Safari Zone events (Liverpool and Philadelphia) are currently still on track to take place as normal. Niantic says it’ll reassess the situation in early April.

At the time of publishing, there have been 109,578 cases of COVID-19 confirmed globally, with 3,123 deaths confirmed in China and 686 deaths outside of China.

While COVID-19 should cause only mild illness in the majority of healthy people, there is a risk of serious illness and even death in others. Older people and those with pre-existing medical conditions appear to be more vulnerable to COVID-19.

Maintaining good hygiene practices, such as washing your hands regularly and covering your mouth when you cough and sneeze, can help to prevent the spread of most viruses and keep yourself safe from infection.

If you have concerns regarding COVID-19, you can visit the World Health Organization website to check on the status of the outbreak and educate yourself on related issues.