A State Trooper vehicle drives down Bourbon Street in the French Quarter on March 15, 2020 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The state government has placed a ban on large public gatherings and postponed the April 4 primary until June 20 due to the coronavirus (COVID-19). (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
New Orleans police cleared the city's famous Bourbon Street over the weekend to stem the spread of coronavirus.
Officers attempted to disperse crowds by driving slowly down the street, still crowded with revelers in spite of the pandemic ripping across the U.S. and the world.
"Large groups of people are prohibited from congregating together. Your actions are jeopardizing public health. We are directing you to clear the streets and go home or back to your hotel," an officer can be heard announcing in a video uploaded to Twitter on Sunday night, and retweeted by the New Orleans Police Department.
The action came on the heels of an executive order by Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards, banning gatherings of 250 people or more across the state and shutting down schools. The Pelican State reported on Saturday its first fatality from COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
The first victim of the virus was a 58-year-old New Orleans resident with underlying health conditions. The city has since reported another death, a 53-year-old patient, also with underlying medical conditions, who New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell called a personal friend.
"The news this morning of a second death in New Orleans is deeply heartbreaking to me, personally — and is additional tragic news for the people of our City. The patient in this instance was a friend of mine, but every one of those impacted by this outbreak is someone's friend, someone's loved one," she wrote on Facebook on Sunday morning.
Louisiana's tally of reported COVID-19 cases more than tripled over the weekend to 114 on Monday morning — from 33 presumptive positive cases across the state as of Friday morning. Of those, 79 cases are in New Orleans, the state's most populous city. The Louisiana Department of Health reported 302 total tests completed as of Monday morning.
Louisiana has joined other states in implementing extreme measures to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus, a disease that spread from Wuhan, China to close to 150 countries across the globe. It has killed 41 and sickened more than 1,600 in the U.S. so far as of Friday, according to the CDC. The Pelican State also became the first state in the nation, according to the New York Times, to postpone its presidential primary, out of an abundance of caution for elderly poll workers who are "among the most vulnerable to this virus," Gov. Edwards said in a statement. The election was originally scheduled for April 4, but has been postponed by more than two months. Georgia has since followed suit, and other states are reportedly considering similar action.
Activism is growing around the country in response to school boards banning books from shelves that focus on sexuality, gender, identity, or race. Jen Cousins, co-founder of The Florida Freedom to Read Project, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
A recent study has found that young people's mental health worsens as they go through their teenage years, with the wellbeing of adolescent girls the most severely impacted. Simone Alicia, creator of The Self Esteem Doctor Academy, joins Cheddar News to discuss how to raise self esteem among this age group.
Cristyl Kimbrough, real estate attorney and star of 'Ladies Who List: Atlanta,' joins Cheddar News to discuss her new show on OWN and breaking into Atlanta's luxury real estate space.
Carl Tobias, professor of law at the University of Richmond, joins Cheddar News to talk about how Johnson & Johnson funded experiments on mostly Black men comparing the effects of talc and asbestos on their skin.
Amazon unveiled its new mobile app called Amp as a direct competitor to Clubhouse, allowing people to host live radio shows. Although it is still in beta, users can join the waitlist from the iOS store.
The war in Ukraine continues to reveal heartbreaking gut-wrenching stories. The war in itself is not only devastating but also expensive. Experts estimate that Russia is draining nearly $20 million dollars each day to continue occupying and invading Ukraine. All this could force the country to turn to cryptocurrencies. It's a major turn for the country that briefly considered outlined digital assets entirely, but it could also have serious implications for cryptos. Managing Director at Quantum Fintech Group, Harry Yeh, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
As Russia intensifies its war on Ukraine, President Biden announced a ban on oil imported from the aggressor nation. Critics of Russia have said this would be the best way to force Putin to pull back, but curbs on Russian oil exports are expected to send already skyrocketing oil and gas prices even higher, further impacting consumers, businesses, financial markets, and the global economy. Leslie Beyer, CEO of the Energy Workforce and Technology Council, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss. "It's certainly going to increase pricing, but it is the right thing to do," she said. "The industry itself has already pulled out of the significant portion of its operations in Russia."
On International Women's Day, we should not only focus on the women who came before us but but also the women doing the work today for a better tomorrow. Ms. James, also known as @iamthatenglishteacher on TikTok, is an Arkansas teacher who took her talents to the video-sharing app to expand her classroom from four walls to the world! She joins Cheddar News to discuss her love for teaching.
