You’ve heard it by now. Mayor Cantrell ordered all big public events this weekend, including Super Sunday and the Irish Channel St Patrick’s Day Parade, to be cancelled among growing concern that social distancing is the only way to stop the exponential spread of the coronavirus. Jefferson Parish followed suit this afternoon and cancelled their parades as well.
Those decisions are in the past, but the challenge continues for state and local governments as to what should be cancelled and what should continue as normal. We have a handful of confirmed cases in Louisiana, none of which have been traced back to a public event. So are these cancellations a little premature? I don’t know.
It’s a legitimate conversation to have. The balance of the economy and the health of the community at large is a tough one to strike. One element to consider is our ability to have a functioning government, given it’s very fragile revenue stream. We rely heavily on tourism dollars, specifically sales taxes, and property tax revenue isn’t as stable as we’d like it to be either. We have sporting events this weekend, like the conference basketball championships for both men and women that are to be held in the City this weekend, which present big concerns. We have a lot of different open public spaces - the jury is out on whether or not we will see additional restrictions there as we continue to figure this out.
We do know that Italy has basically shut their country down. Nobody is allowed to go in, and they’re not letting people out very easily, either. You can’t move from city to city, as transportation systems are down. If authorities there catch you on the street, you have to prove that you’re going to or from work. They’re encouraging people to stay home unless it is absolutely necessary to leave.
So where does this all go? One question we heard over and over again today - if the parades are cancelled, why isn’t the Mayor’s Ball cancelled? Is that a situation where the optics are really bad?I think those optics are terrible. If we’re practicing social distancing, and that’s the primary motivating factor in deciding to shut down these parades, having a venue with a few hundred or even a thousand people sitting down to have dinner - isn’t that a problem? It seems to me it would be as much of a challenge as staying safe at the Mayor’s Ball as it would be in the open air at a parade.
I’m going to choose to listen to our health officials and follow their guidance. It doesn’t mean we can’t have these conversations about it, but I believe there are a lot more uncertainties than certainties at the present time. Will we get on the same kind of deaths and infections bell curve we are seeing in China, Italy and the rest? Time will tell.
