Though the Irish (and the drinkers) among us may be wondering how the heck we're going to celebrate St. Paddy's Day today in a time of social distancing due to the 2019 novel coronavirus, Toronto Mayor John Tory has promised the city a future make-up day to party.

On social media, Tory urged that everyone stay home for the holiday this year to avoid further community spread of COVID-19, saying that "If you avoid green beer crowd scenes today — as public health officials advise — I promise to proclaim a nice spring day after #COVID19 has been vanquished as St. Patrick's Day 2 in Toronto and we will party! #FlattenTheCurve."

Seeing as essentially all forthcoming events (St. Patrick's-related or not) have been cancelled for the foreseeable future and the province has just declared a state of emergency, delaying the festivities is the obvious, most sensible choice.

The harm of having to sit tight and imbibe with some solo green beers at home is nothing compared to the harm of going out and putting ourselves and others at risk right now.

Plus, St. Paddy's Day 2.0 during warm, sunny spring patio season — and when we're not facing the realities of a daunting global pandemic — sounds much more fun anyway.