The Columbia Paper, the Ghent-based independent weekly newspaper has temporarily suspended its print publication, effective with the March 26 edition. In an editorial, editor and publisher Parry Teasdale apologized to readers, calling the paper collateral damage from the pandemic. "I didn’t give you more warning of this because I didn’t see it coming," he said. The past two issues, Teasdale reported, carried a reduced number of pages, but reducing the size of the publication did not make up for the loss of advertisers. At this point, he said, how long the suspension will last is unknown, but he hopes will be no more than four or five weeks. Teasdale did say that although the economic impact of the pandemic was a significant factor, the decision to suspend publication started over concerns for the health and safety of its delivery drivers, many of whom would be considered "high risk" if they contract the virus. In the meantime, the paper intends to focus on its website and carry on until a print edition is viable again. Earlier this week, Hudson Valley One Publisher Geddy Sveikauskas announced that Ulster Publishing has suspended indefinitely the print publication of its newspapers. The 47-year-old enterprise publishes the Woodstock Times, the Kingston Times, New Paltz Times and Saugerties Times. Read the full editorial in The Columbia Paper.