The Louisiana Department of Health “will no longer promote mass vaccination.”.

New Orleans' health director says she won't take part in a satirical Mardi Gras-season parade, one of the season's earliest, citing threats since COVID-19 restrictions were resumed.

New Orleans is bringing back an indoor mask mandate to fight the spread of COVID-19 while preparing for an influx of visitors for the Mardi Gras season.

Entertainment venues in New Orleans have been given permission to start hosting live music again starting this weekend, but under strict regulations. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)NEW ORLEANS – Live indoor music can resume in New Orleans beginning this weekend, city officials announced Wednesday, but dancing will remain prohibited, while venues, performers and audiences will be under strict requirements to employ measures to control the spread of the coronavirus. It was not immediately clear how many bars and other live music venues will be able to meet them and begin hosting live entertainment again in a city where music is ingrained in cultural history and vital to tourism. Brian Greenberg, general manager of Tipitina's, said he thinks the historic music club and bar may be able to pull it off, although not right away. Live music has not been allowed at indoor events in New Orleans in almost a year, since the city became an early hot spot in the COVID-19 pandemic.

As officials met to discuss approval of a COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday, Dec. 10, the number of coronavirus deaths has grown bleaker than ever. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)MISSION, Kan. – Just when the U.S. appears on the verge of rolling out a COVID-19 vaccine, the numbers have become gloomier than ever: Over 3,000 American deaths in a single day, more than on D-Day or 9/11. The U.S. recorded 3,124 deaths Wednesday, the highest one-day total yet, according to Johns Hopkins University. Up until last week, the peak was 2,603 deaths on April 15, when New York City was the epicenter of the nation’s outbreak. Wednesday's toll eclipsed American deaths on the opening day of the Normandy invasion during World War II: 2,500, out of some 4,400 Allied dead.

State officials said testing sites in Lee County also were forced to close due to the storm’s impact. ___MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin health officials reported another dip in new COVID-19 infections Monday from a record high over the weekend. Of the 707 people in the hospital, the state reported 168 were in intensive care. New daily confirmed cases are up more than 60% over the past two weeks, to an average of nearly 109,000 a day. The U.S. accounts for about one fifth of the world’s 50 million confirmed cases.