1. COVID-19 pandemic
The global coronavirus pandemic hit Lafourche Parish in March, wreaking havoc on every facet of life. By year s end, the parish had recorded more than 6,000 COVID infections and 160 deaths.
State orders aimed at curbing the virus s spread restricted business and social activity. Orders mandated face masks for anyone in public and encouraged residents to stay at least six feet away from others and wash their hands regularly. Schools offered a mix of online-only and in-person classes and limited class sizes on campus.
Houma-Thibodaux lost 5,800 jobs in April, the first full month of the state’s COVID stay-at-home order. Business closures and layoffs helped elevate the area’s unemployment rate to 12.3%, its highest since the late-1980s oil bust. The area regained most of those jobs by year s end, but the November total was still down 2,000 from a year earlier. Long lines became common at area food banks.
For months, the ongoing pandemic has created uncertainty about whether parades could roll in a way that will keep revelers safe. State restrictions discourage large gatherings and require anyone in public to wear a mask and stay at least six feet apart in an effort to curb the airborne virus spread.
William “Chip” Riggins Jr., regional medical director for the state Health Department, discussed parade-related health concerns last week with the Terrebonne Parish Council. Riggins said he had heard of other areas considering ways to modify parades, but as far as he knew, no one had come up with a way to do it safely.
Two days after the Lafourche Parish Council announced that the Mardi Gras parades in Thibodaux were canceled due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the Terrebonne Parish Council decided not to decide the fate of its Carnival celebration Wednesday night.
The issue was placed on the agenda prior to the meeting by councilmember Gerald Michel, but was tabled for the next meeting because Terrebonne Sheriff Tim Soignet had another function to attend.
The issue will be taken up in a week, at the council s scheduled meeting on Dec. 16, its last of the 2020 calendar year.
Soignet said the current spike in cases isn’t looking promising for Mardi Gras 2021, but the decision on whether parades will roll in Terrebonne in 2021 will be made after the first of the year,