However, Wagga City Council said that, as of Thursday afternoon, there were no plans to call off Saturday's event.

The decision by council to press ahead with the 2020 Wagga Mardi Gras came as Hilltops Council announced it was calling off the Lambing Flat Chinese Festival, which was to have been held at Young on March 21, because of coronavirus and its impact on a number of scheduled performers.

In a letter to The Daily Advertiser, resident Anna von Marburg called on council to "proactively" consider cancellation, as "an influx from Sydney, which has the highest number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Australia, could seed an outbreak in our idyllic rural city".

"A quick google of 'COVID-19' will show that many authorities such as the World Health Organisation have called for 'urgent and extreme measures' such as extreme social distancing, with places such as Ireland even cancelling St Patrick's Day parades and events," Ms von Marburg wrote.

Andrew Miller, a Riverina health worker, has also called for council to postpone the event, saying he was "aware of the economic and social effect a cancellation would have".

"I see the long-term impacts as being far greater than the short term dollars it will bring to Wagga. I also believe that Wagga should be setting an example for our region by acting in the public's best interest," Mr Miller wrote.

Mr Miller said he held similar concerns about any major sporting or social events currently being planned and his views were based on his experiences within a health care setting.

"With this event estimated at bringing around 30,000-plus visitors to Wagga, the chances of an outbreak would be of significance where large public gatherings are being held. It must be also noted that Sydney in the past week or so has had a large increase of cases associated with this virus," Mr Miller wrote.

Wagga City Council's general manager Peter Thompson said council was taking its advice and guidance from NSW Health and the federal Department of Health.

"The advice at present is consistent and clear - there is no call to cancel public events. The Australian Health Protection Principal Committee considers that public events should proceed and have publicly issued this position," Mr Thompson said.

"Both the NSW and commonwealth government agencies indicate they will update this position if needed and we will follow their updates to ensure we are in step."