NEW ORLEANS — The City of New Orleans continues its weekly digest of key news items provided by the Mayor’s Office of Communications and NOLA Ready as a way to remind residents of the actions, resources and other news they can use for reference, with a focus on the City’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak.
The City of New Orleans has conducted nearly 900 tests this week at the first mobile testing site, located at Xavier University of Louisiana.
Hospitalizations and fatalities in New Orleans are decreasing at a rate that is among the fastest in the nation, according to analysis by the New York Times. This is because residents are taking this crisis seriously and staying home. Mayor Cantrell says “now is not the time to let up, it is incumbent on every one of us to heed public safety instructions to slow the spread.”
These are the week’s top headlines, in reverse chronological order:
MAYOR CANTRELL ANNOUNCES $50 MILLION SMALL BUSINESS LOAN FUND FOR SOUTHERN BUSINESSES WITH GOLDMAN SACHS, HOPE (April 24)
Mayor Cantrell announced on Friday that Goldman Sachs has committed $50 million as part of its 10,000 Small Businesses initiative to loans for small businesses in New Orleans and across the south, in a partnership with Hope Enterprise Corporation, a leading community development financial institution (“CDFI”). Applications are currently being accepted and can be found by visiting the Hope Enterprise Corporation website here.
MAYOR CANTRELL THANKS SIEMENS FOUNDATION FOR $150K GRANT TO COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER (April 22)
Mayor LaToya Cantrell thanked the Siemens Foundation for the $150,000 grant to the Marillac Community Health Centers/DePaul Community Health Centers in response to the COVID-19 crisis.
FACT SHEET: SIX MONTHS OF DELAYS BY HARD ROCK SITE OWNERS (April 22)
The City of New Orleans released a statement regarding delays at the site of the Hard Rock disaster and the City’s efforts to ensure that the owners of the property, The Kailas family / 1031 Canal Development LLC, are held accountable.
MAYOR CANTRELL REMINDS RESIDENTS TO WEAR FACE COVERINGS IN PUBLIC; CRITICAL TO SLOWING SPREAD OF COVID-19 (April 22)
Mayor LaToya Cantrell released a statement, reminding residents and businesses of the critical importance of using face coverings while conducting essential business.Data suggests that many who are infected with COVID-19 are not symptomatic. For that reason, the New Orleans Health Department STRONGLY RECOMMENDS that all members of the public wear cloth face coverings when doing essential activities, like grocery shopping or going to an essential job.
LCMC Health, City of New Orleans, and LSUHSC partner to offer COVID-19 testing to the community (April 20)
LCMC Health, the New Orleans Health Department, and Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center (LSUHSC) will be conducting a mobile testing campaign for COVID-19 across the metro area over the coming weeks. The mobile campaign will bring walk-up testing to neighborhoods that have been heavily affected by COVID-19, with the goal of identifying early cases. The sites will be selected to provide testing outreach to communities that may have had limited access to drive-up testing.
Providing Accommodations for Frontline Responders in New Orleans (April 17)
Airbnb and the City of New Orleans announced they combined forces with multiple organizations to provide places to stay for frontline responders in the New Orleans area. The collaboration, which includes the Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, the EMS Foundation and the New Orleans LCMC Health Hospital System, will help provide accommodations for hundreds of frontline responders through the Airbnb Frontline stays program. Airbnb is contributing $500,000 to help cover the cost of the Frontline stays in New Orleans.
To stay connected throughout the COVID-19 outbreak and receive key up-to-date information, residents are encouraged to do the following:
NOLA Ready
Follow @nolaready on all social media platforms.
Text COVIDNOLA to 888777.
City of New Orleans
Follow Official accounts of @mayorcantrell or @CityofNOLA on all social media platforms.
