It's hurricane season. The city of New Orleans is preparing for a busy one -- that's complicated by an ongoing pandemic.
COVID-19 has added some unwanted complexity to the 2020 hurricane season, says New Orleans Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness Director Colin Arnold.
"As emergency managers, we're grappling with three primary concerns, and that is public safety and essential staffing, evacuation planning, and the potential for public complacency and fear," said Arnold.
Arnold says right now, they're staff is in good shape. NOHSEP workers who came down with COVID-19 have recovered, and most workers who had to quarantine are out of isolation.
Arnold is also recommencing a few items you're going to want to add to your "go bag" for this summer.
"In your materials, you should be adding masks, face coverings, sanitizers and cleaning products," he said.
And he says New Orleans residents should never become complacent about the risks posed by hurricanes.
"Every year, we deal with complacency, because fortunately it's been a long time since we were effected by a major hurricane," said Arnold.
New Orleans has not called for an evacuation since Hurricane Gustav in 2008.