NEW ORLEANS — City leaders are set to unveil a public safety plan Friday ahead of Sunday’s New Orleans Saints game, but will likely face questions on the city’s delayed move to Phase 3 reopening, the threat of tropical development, and recent gun violence.
Mayor LaToya Cantrell, New Orleans police Superintendent Shaun Ferguson and health department director Dr. Jennifer Avegno are scheduled to speak at the news conference at 11 a.m. Friday. The event will be live-streamed on WWLTV.com and on WWL-TV’s Facebook Page.
The news conference comes one day after Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards announced that the state would move Phase 3 reopening and ease the state’s coronavirus restrictions.
Edwards is expected to provide more details about what restrictions will be lifted or remain in place Friday afternoon. He did not give details Thursday except to say that a statewide mask mandate will remain in place.
However, the governor’s plans will not include New Orleans as Cantrell has said the city will keep existing Phase 2 restrictions in place. New Orleans is preparing to return public school students to classrooms beginning Monday. Cantrell said safely returning students to classes is the city’s top priority.
The moves come as the rate of new coronavirus cases, the percentage of positive tests and hospitalizations have declined statewide.
New Orleans is also closely watching the tropics as an area of low pressure is expected to cross over Florida on Friday and enter the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Forecasters say the system will move into an area conducive for development and a tropical depression could form this weekend into early next week.
Cantrell and Ferguson will also likely face questions about a recent rash of gun violence in the city. Just overnight, 4 people were killed and two others were wounded in three separate shootings across the city. The latest incidents come just days after gunfire erupted just off a busy Canal Street leaving one man dead.
As for the Saints game, Tom Brady will make his debut with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday against the Saints with no fans in the stands at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
Police have asked people to not tailgate or gather downtown ahead of Sunday’s game.
► Get breaking news from your neighborhood delivered directly to you by downloading the new FREE WWL-TV News app now in the IOS App Store or Google Play.
