NOLA on edge over pandemic

Holiday weekend misbehavior brings rebuke by authorities

NEW ORLEANS — Large crowds in New Orleans over the Labor Day weekend prompted city officials to issue a warning that the activity could cause a spike in coronavirus cases and that businesses will face citations for violating rules.

“The city is aware of large crowd activity in violation of the public health guidelines, and of the images circulating online. This behavior is unacceptable, and it is dangerous. COVID-19 is not taking a holiday this weekend, and the irresponsible actions on display could have serious consequences that show up in the data two weeks from now: more cases, more community spread, and more deaths,” a City Hall spokesperson said in a statement.

City officials said that on Friday and Saturday they’d had 36 calls about large gatherings and 46 calls for businesses not following rules.

The city said code enforcement officers will perform door-to-door checks to ensure that food providers and restaurants are enforcing the guidelines regarding social distancing and facial coverings.

Police will also break up large gatherings, city officials said.

Public health officials have expressed concern that Labor Day gatherings could cause a spike in COVID-19 cases, similar to what happened after Memorial Day and July Fourth celebrations.

In other developments nationwide:

■ Florida has now surpassed 12,000 deaths linked to the coronavirus, according to data released by state health officials Sunday. The milestone was reached after the state added 38 people to the grim tally.

With more than 2,500 new cases reported Sunday, Florida has recorded more than 646,000 cases of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic six months ago. Nearly 3,200 infected people were being treated in hospitals for the virus.

■ Kentucky set a record for the number of positive coronavirus cases for the second straight week, Gov. Andy Beshear said Sunday.

The 4,742 confirmed cases for the week ending Sunday topped the record of 4,503 cases from the previous week, Beshear said.

There were 313 new cases reported Sunday, pushing Kentucky’s total for the pandemic to at least 52,774.

Georgia on Sunday reached more than 6,000 reported deaths from the coronavirus pandemic.

Gov. Brian Kemp urged people to maintain precautions during the Labor Day weekend.

“This #Labordayweekend, I am urging all Georgians to wear a mask, practice social distancing, wash their hands. … By staying vigilant in the fight against COVID-19, we can continue to protect people & paychecks in GA!,” Kemp wrote in a tweet.