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.
Although this week's weather is predicted to be less severe than the 2021 storm, Texans are preparing for the worst - stocking up on supplies and emptying shelves in grocery stores, once again. Some Texans still have not recovered from last year's tragedy, and are heading into the next few weeks with anxiety for what's to come. Leslie Beyer, CEO of the Houston-based energy workforce & technology council, joins Cheddar News to discuss if the Texas grid will fail again.
Student loan debt continues to be a major concern for tens of millions of Americans who collectively owe about $1.7 trillion. Black college students often take on larger amounts of student debt in order to pay for a higher education. In turn, they are more likely to struggle post-graduation with repaying their debt, creating a racial wealth gap divide. Andre Perry, senior fellow at Brookings Institution joined All Hands to help break down the black student debt crisis.
BTS’ hit single “Butter” tops the zeitgeist again, bumping back up to number one on Billboard’s Hot Trending Chart. The chart tracks what songs people are talking about rather than what they're listening to.
The American Red Cross has declared its first-ever "national blood crisis" in the United States. Since COVID hit the U.S. in March 2020, blood donations have declined by 10 percent. American Red Cross Medical Director, Dr. Baia Lasky joined Cheddar News to discuss the country facing the worst blood shortage in over a decade. Dr. Lasky noted that as much as 40 percent of Americans are eligible to donate blood but only about 4 percent do so. "This is going to be ongoing," she said. "This is not an acute shortage. We really do need the commitment of people to come out and donate and donate again." Appointments to donate can be made by using the Red Cross Donor App, at RedCrossBlood.org, or calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).
On this episode of ChedHER: Co-Founder of VC firm CaJE breaks down how she's creating a new era of venture capital and empowering Black women with 'soil' funding to start and grow their businesses; AYO Foods Co-Founder discusses how the brand is bringing West African cuisine to the frozen food industry and building a grocery aisle her daughters can be proud of; Chief Marketing & Customer Experience Officer at Chase Auto talks her experience being a woman of color in the auto industry, and why transportation is so important to financial freedom.
Renée Horne, chief marketing and customer experience officer at Chase Auto, joins ChedHER to discuss her experience being a woman of color in the auto industry and why transportation is so important to financial freedom.
Perteet Spencer, Co-Founder of AYO Foods, joins ChedHER to discuss how the brand is bringing West African cuisine to the frozen food industry and building a grocery aisle her daughters can be proud of.
