NEW ORLEANS — The city of New Orleans will cancel all of this weekend's major public events in the wake of news that there are two more patients who have tested presumptive for coronavirus in New Orleans hospitals.
The events that are cancelled include:
- Wednesday at the Square concert
- The Irish Channel St. Patrick's Day parade
- The Downtown Irish St. Patrick's Day parade
- The Italian-American parade
- The Uptown Super Sunday Mardi Gras Indian event
- The Single Men Social Aid and Pleasure Club Second Line
Other events that cancelled independently:
- Big Brother casting call
- 10th Kenner Hispanic Festival
- Bourbon Festival
- Krewe of Red Beans' Bean Madness Tournament
Cantrell said the decision to cancel the events came in the wake of the news that there are now three presumptively positive coronavirus patients at three different hospitals in the New Orleans area, across different parts of town.
"Being in three locations, being the hospitals, meaning they have been treated by three different sets of hospital caregivers, to be as proactive as possible, to prevent any type of community spread... to be proactive as it relates to preventing anyone else in our city from coming down with COVID-19... I've made the decision, in consultation with my safety team... I'm making the call to cancel all of them," Cantrell said at a press conference Tuesday night.
The city of New Orleans is following in the footsteps of several other cities around the country that have curtailed events.
New Orleans has several huge events coming over the next few months, including the French Quarter Festival, the Jazz and Heritage Festival, the Crescent City Classic and the Essence Festival along with other festivals and concerts.
Colin Arnold, the city's Director of Homeland Security said that the city has a planned call with the major events later this week and that both sides will have a say in what happens, though the city could make a call based on public safety.
"We’d like to hear from them if acts start pulling out, if sponsors start pulling out and that will change the dynamics of some of these festivals, regardless of where we’re at," he said.
Cantrell was also asked about the situation with the city's schools and she said that she is also in communication with the schools, but she and the other city leaders all emphasized that the situation is "fluid" and could change as the situation with number of cases changes.
The New Orleans Bourbon Festival announced Tuesday night that they will postpone the festival to an undetermined date. The festival was scheduled to take place this weekend, but will follow the city's lead.
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