Cantrell’s Office Says New Orleans May Reinstate Mask and Other Mandates Fall Events in Jeopardy

If you'll be traveling to the Big Easy in the near future, New Orleans Mayor Cantrell's office warns that the reinstatement of coronavirus mask and other mitigation efforts is not out of the question for New Orleans as recent COVID-19 data is startling.

COVID-19 cases in southeast Louisiana have over quadrupled in the last few weeks. New Orleans and surrounding areas are the state's coronavirus hotspot. And the fact that the coronavirus has mutated at least 5 times in the past year, the virus still has its hold on Louisianans in the southeast portion of the state.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is now warning Americans that some coronavirus variants that are popping up, are more contagious and more severe than we've seen since the start of the pandemic.

Recently the coronavirus mutated again and there are now two variants that are very concerning to healthcare professionals. One variant is alpha, the other delta. These are more powerful mutations that are more contagious than the original version of the coronavirus. Healthcare professionals believe these variants will cause more hospitalizations as they are more transmissible, especially variant delta.

There is also a new variant called lambda. The World Health Organization (WHO) has designated this new variant as a "variant of interest".

New Orleans Mayor's Office spokesman Beau Tidwell said the city is looking at the potential for additional mitigation measures.

We want to be clear that all options are on the table. We're going to do everything we can to ge that back under control. -New Orleans Mayor's Office spokesman Beau Tidwell