Louisiana is facing an explosion in cases of coronavirus and Mardi Gras may be to blame. The New York Times is reporting that Lousiana saw a total of 2,300 cases as of this past Thursday and is actually experiecing the fastest rate of growth of cases in the *entire world*. The number of cases in and around New Orleans appears to be the most dire, with almost 1/2 of the overall statewide cases. Hospitals are overwhelemed and have run out of gear necessary to safely treat these acutely ill patients.
Mardi Grasm which ended on February 25th, is being looked at as a possible petri dish that caused this explosion. The weekslong, citywide party causes people to congregate in restaurants, bars and the streets for days of drunken debauchery and there is little to no personal space.
Dr. F. Brobson Lutz Jr., the former health director of New Orleans and a specialist in infectious disease told the New York Times: “I think it all boils down to Mardi Gras. The greatest free party in the world was a perfect incubator at the perfect time.”
So why did the Governor of Louisiana not cancel Mardi Gras? Governor Bel Edwards joined Martha Raddatz on Sunday morning to discuss what went into the decision to allow the festivities to go:
EDWARDS: Well, look, there was never any hint from anyone, to me or to the Mayor of New Orleans, that there should be any consideration to down-sizing or canceling Mardi Gras. I think, if you look back for about 15 cases in the country, all of which were tied directly to travel or indirectly to travel, and there was never any hint of this. And if you'll go back, you will see that the federal government was saying things were well under control.
And so this is some Monday morning quarterbacking going on. And, quite frankly, I believe it's likely that -- that Mardi Gras contributed to the seeding of the virus in and around New Orleans, a million and a half people, just 13 days before the first confirmed case here on March the 9th. But -- but that's looking back. Right now, we need to spend our time, our energy; we need to be focused on doing what we can do right now in going forward. And I'm sure that -- that somebody's going to do a study about the -- the impact of Mardi Gras on this particular public health emergency later.
There you have it. The federal government - and Donald Trump's continued lies - most likely led to this infection spreading at an infinitely faster rate than if the government had been honest from the beginning. We know that viruses to do not respond to mean tweets, respect borders or angry words and do not care about politician's lies or delusions. These cases - and the deaths that come from them - lie squarely at the feet or one extremely stupid and mentally unstable man - the one and only President Dum Dum.
