The city of New Orleans should stay in until May 16

We cannot leave our house, not yet anyway. The newest directive by our mayor, Latoya Cantrell, makes it so. While some may think differently, given our numbers, April 30 was too soon.

The coronavirus has us in a locked room and it has the key. We are not in charge. It is. What we the people must do is follow this ongoing set of best practices that have been given to us. The statistics say that washing our hands is working. The data shows that social distancing and staying away from each other is working.

Press conferences held by our mayor and Governor John Bel Edwards have given us hope in recent days. The hope given by them is not a green light to go out and celebrate. It is not a signal to disband the strategies that have been working for us.

Some weeks ago, New Orleans made national news because we were considered a hot spot. Cases were rising each day and deaths were mounting each hour. Now at this present time, not as much. We must continue to do what we have been doing. It is working!

Our city is known for its celebrations and festivals. People come here all year long from all over the world. Our culture, our food, our music and our events have made New Orleans a destination city for many years. People want to be where we live everyday.

The Essence Festival and The Jazz Festival have been cancelled for this year because of COVID-19. The decision in my opinion was the right decision. City leaders and planners took all factors into account. At the end, our safety and our welfare were more important.

Yes, we will miss the Essence Festival and the Jazz Festival. And yes, the economic impact will be significant. We will not be able to readily replace those tourism dollars.

However, over time and in the coming months, we will get through this together. And next year there will be another Essence Festival and another Jazz Festival. However, our time of misery and pain is now and for the near future.

Yet our resiliency and our humanity will persevere and will be on full display for the world to see. Throughout the years, we have been battled-tested. We will come back better and stronger than ever. After all, we are New Orleans!

– Dr. James B. Ewers Jr.

This article originally published in the April 27, 2020 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.