The novel coronavirus has hit the United States hard, with Louisiana and the greater Gulf South in particular struggling to deal with the pandemic. That includes New Orleans, the home of the Saints; in a recent interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, Mayor LaToya Cantrell outlined the difficulties her city has dealt with so far and discussed the new challenges still on the horizon.
“Let me tell you, 30% of our workforce in the city is tied to our hospitality and tourism industry,” Cantrell said. “The city of New Orleans right now is looking at a $150 million deficit with about $126 million tied to sales tax, which is absolutely because of our industry … I don’t see how a city will be able to operate in terms of basic city services, let alone host large-scale festivals.