A national memorial in New Zealand to commemorate the 51 people who were killed when a gunman attacked two mosques one year ago has been cancelled due to concern over the new coronavirus.

Thousands of people were expected to attend the Sunday service in Christchurch to mark the anniversary of the March 15 shooting.

New Zealand has had just six confirmed cases of COVID-19. All of those cases have been connected to people returning from abroad and so far there haven’t been signs of a local outbreak. The most recent case, involving a man in his 60s who recently returned from the U.S., was announced by health officials Saturday.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the decision to cancel the service at Horncastle Arena, also announced Saturday, was pragmatic and precautionary.

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