After photos and videos surfaced of New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell and other elected officials not wearing face masks at a Mardi Gras Ball Friday, spokesperson Beau Tidwell had to address the subject at a press conference.
“The mayor removed her mask at certain instances to eat and to drink and to take photos. We do need to do a better job of modeling the expected behavior and we’re going to do that going forward,” said Tidwell.
The photos are from the Mayor’s Mardi Gras Ball Friday evening. Despite the city’s COVID requirements that face masks must be worn inside public spaces, with the exception of eating and drinking, Photos from the event appear to show otherwise. Tidwell said the guidelines remain in place.

Mayor LaToya Cantrell at Gallier Hall February 18, 2022 @professorsampson Instagram

Mayor LaToya Cantrell (far right) at Gallier Hall February 18, 2022 @deeomartin Instagram
“We need to do a better job of modeling the expectations around the masking guidelines and we’re going to continue to try to improve on that. In terms of any changes to the guidelines there are none planned at this time,” said Tidwell.
Tidwell said guests were required to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test to attend the ball, which is part of the city’s requirements for indoor venues.
“There are no mask police, we’re asking everybody to come at this with a goodwill, and to do it in a way that makes people more safe. And again, it’s regrettable that we weren’t modeling the best practices last weekend, but we want to be sure that going forward that we do a better job so that’s everybody’s more safe,” said Tidwell.
Tidwell said the vaccine, testing, and masking requirements will remain in place throughout Mardi Gras.
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