For an entire week, Louisiana has set new record for the number of people in hospitals suffering from COVID-19, more than at any point since the pandemic was first diagnosed in a Louisiana patient in March 2020. It has raised the question: will there be another lockdown?
"How bad does this have to get before we go to more stringent restrictions," asked New Orleans City Councilman Jay Banks during a committee meeting with New Orleans Health Department Director Dr. Jennifer Avegno. "Are we headed back to a shutdown?"
Dr. Avegno didn't have a definitive answer.
"Really, I don't know." she told Banks. "We shouldn't have to be there. We know more than we did in March and April (of 2020), and we have more tools: we've got short-term tools with masks and we've got long-term answers with vaccinations."
Dr. Avegno said if we use those tools to their fullest, we can avoid imposing restrictions. But she also said Mayor LaToya Cantrell has not taken anything off the table.
That was confirmed as New Orleans Mayor's Office spokesman Beau Tidwell spoke to reporters around the same time.
"Are potential other changes possible? Yes," said Tidwell. "The mayor and her health leadership team are looking at multiple, possible changes. We may have further updates on that later this week."
In the meantime, the city is prepared to have full capacity at the Caesar Superdome a week from Saturday when the Saints play a pre-season football game against Jacksonville.
“The city mask mandate is in effect. The dome is in the city. Anybody who is at the Dome is expected to wear a mask regardless of any changes that may or may not be made. So, the expectation is that everyone will be masked up,” said Tidwell.
Tidwell applauded organizers with Jazz Fest and Gretna Fest for deciding to cancel their festivals amid this fourth COVID surge.
as of earlier today, the French Quarter festival still plans on proceeding as scheduled for next month.
“We are not looking to pull the plug on them today,” said Tidwell. “We are going to continue to watch the situation and hope the event organizers look at it carefully themselves.”
