Mardi Gras linked to infection rise as US overtakes Italy for case numbers
New Orleans’ emergence as hotspot may be down to annual festival which sees streets full of partygoers
NEW ORLEANS is emerging as one of scores of new US coronavirus hotspots, possibly fuelled by Mardi Gras celebrations, as America leapfrogged China and Italy as the country with the most confirmed infections.
The Louisiana city has around 1,000 confirmed cases of Covid-19 and, according to one academic study, has seen the world’s fastest growth rate in terms of how quickly cases rose in the first fortnight after detection.
Suspicion has fallen on the city’s famous Mardi Gras festivities which ran throughout February before reaching a climax on Feb 25, around a month ago. It attracted an estimated 1.4million tourists.
The gathering has been described as a “perfect storm” for the spread of Covid-19 by one health expert as crowds packed into streets in the city’s French Quarter, sharing drinking cups and passing round traditional bead necklaces.
While New York remains the centre of the crisis in America, other cities including Detroit, Miami, Chicago and Los Angeles are now seeing rising case numbers. The surges have propelled America to the top of the list of more than 150 countries where coronavirus has been detected.
Last night, the US had more than 100,000 confirmed cases according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, a higher figure than Italy, with around 86,000 and China with around 82,000 – though doubts remain about the accuracy of China’s reporting.
The nationwide spread of the virus in America complicates efforts to counter it, with infections confirmed in all 50 states. At least 15 states have more than 1,000 cases each.
It means that, unlike in China where Wuhan was effectively cut off from the rest of the country to limit contagion, it may be too late to largely contain the virus to a single region.
In Washington DC, the $2 trillion (£1.6trillion) stimulus package passed the House of Representatives.
One Republican congressman, Thomas Massie of Kentucky, had atthe tempted to force an in-person vote which would have delayed its passage but he was outmanoeuvred.
Donald Trump had made his fury clear at the delaying tactic, calling Mr Massie a “grandstander” and suggesting he be expelled from the party.
The US president was due to sign the bill into law yesterday. Supply of ventilators, which are needed to treat the most serious coronavirus cases, continued to be a debate point in America amid reports that shortages are expected.
The president prompted a backlash from critics when, during a Fox News interview, he appeared to dismiss a call by Andrew Cuomo, the New York governor, for 30,000 ventilators.
“I don’t believe you need 40,000 or 30,000 ventilators. You know, you go to major hospitals, sometimes they have two ventilators.
“And now, all of a sudden, they’re saying ‘Can we order 30,000 ventilators’,” Mr Trump said.
However, he appeared to change tone last night, saying: “We’re going to be in very good shape in terms of certain equipment” and promising that “over 100,000 [ventilators]” would be made. He also urged companies to build more. “General Motors must imreached mediately open their stupidly abandoned Lordstown plant in Ohio, or some other plant, and start making ventilators, now!” Mr Trump wrote in one tweet.
In New Orleans, health experts were grappling with surging coronavirus cases. The city’s total increased by 30 per cent in a 24-hour period.
Bourbon Street, the centre of the city’s French Quarter and a focal point for partygoers, has been so quiet in recent days that hoards of rats have been seen there searching for food.
It was a very different picture around a month ago, when the virus had America, but nationwide restrictions had not yet been applied. Photographs from then show Bourbon Street packed with revellers visiting for Mardi Gras.
Dr Rebekah Gee, who until January was the health secretary for Louisiana, was among those who believe the festivities fuelled the outbreak in the city.
“Mardi Gras was the perfect storm, it provided the perfect conditions for the spread of this virus,” she told Reuters.
“No red flags were given,” she told CNN. “If we were given clear direction, we would not have had Mardi Gras, and I would’ve been the leader to cancel it.”