NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana — It’s the first weekend in New Orleans where visitors are under the threat of a large fine if they are caught not wearing a face covering.
Saturday night, there was another large crowd on Bourbon Street.
Some revelers were wearing a face covering. Many we not.
Visitor Monte Ambro reached into his pocket and put on his mask when we informed him, he could be fined $500 for not wearing one.
“I don’t like it,” Ambro said. “I mean you should wear it though. They keep everybody safe.”
This week Mayor LaToya Cantrell authorized police officers to issue citations to people for not complying with the city’s mask mandate and other coronavirus rules.
This after last weekend’s large, mostly maskless crowds in the Quarter.
Visitor Curtis Hill said the city should crackdown on people not wearing masks.
“I think that’s a good rule,” Hill said. “I’m trying to talk to you right now without my mask on, but I think it’s good to enforce. COVID is here to stay, for now, you’ve got to do something.”
Hill added, despite the threat of a fine, he hasn’t seen anyone being cited for not wearing a mask.
“I haven’t, but there’s been a couple of people I’ve seen inside enforcing it, maybe not outside,” Hill said.
Visitor Brandy Downing from Baton Rouge came to town with a mask just in case.
“This sucks, 100 percent, but I’m doing what I have to do to enjoy my life,” Downing said. “We have to do what we got to do.”
According to the mayor, while mask citations can result in a fine, if people can't afford to pay, they can elect to pick up trash around the city as an alternative punishment.
Right now, New Orleans is in Phase 3.2 of the city’s reopening guidelines.
Barring any resurgence in the Coronavirus, the city could move to the less restrictive Phase 3.3 as early as Halloween.
