St. Tammany Parish President Mike Cooper Announces Decision on 2021 Mardi Gras Parades

St. Tammany Parish President Mike Cooper Announces Decision on 2021 Mardi Gras Parades

From St. Tammany Parish Government:

St. Tammany Parish President Mike Cooper announced today that 2021 Mardi Gras Parades will not roll in St. Tammany. The decision was finalized early Thursday, after consultation with Dr. Charles Preston, St. Tammany Parish Coroner, St. Tammany Parish Sheriff Randy Smith, local fire districts, local police departments and a consensus of local mayors.

“This decision was made after much discussion and thoughtful deliberation. We have taken in to consideration the health, safety and welfare of our citizens and the fact that we remain in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic with numbers continuing to rise,” Cooper said. “We want to discourage any event that will draw large crowds and possibly endanger the health of our citizens or possibly put our first responders at risk. I want to thank every leader within our Parish who participated in this conversation. I will continue to do what is right to balance the health of our community with the health of our economy.”

Cooper hosted two conference calls with the above-mentioned parties on separate occasions to discuss the 2021 Mardi Gras season.