Democratic New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell was reportedly caught in several videos without a mask at an indoor Mardis Gras ball on Friday, according to Fox News, just weeks after reinstating mask requirements for the city.
Cantrell, along with other partygoers at the Mayor’s Mardi Gras Ball at Gallier Hall on Friday, was pictured maskless in 100 short videos that were posted online depicting scenes from the party, Fox News reported. The videos were deleted shortly after Fox News contacted Cantrell’s office, but reportedly show the Democrat singing karaoke.
Not a single partygoer was wearing a mask during the event, according to Fox News. (RELATED: California Gov. Newsom, Mayors Caught Maskless With Magic Johnson At Rams Game)
Cantrell had reinstated New Orleans’ mask mandate on Jan. 11, 2022, amid a surge in COVID-19 cases due to the emergence of the Omicron variant.
Jan 11, 2022: City of New Orleans Announces Reinstatement of Indoor Mask Mandate
Mayor’s Ball 2022: https://t.co/YA5owyP7yn pic.twitter.com/ZOA6AGCH1S
— Sam (@SamSullivan) February 21, 2022
Cantrell’s office did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment; however, Cantrell spokesman Beau Tidwell admitted to Fox News that partygoers did not completely adhere to mask requirements.
“The mask guidelines and the vaccination requirement will remain in effect thru Mardi Gras,” Tidwell told Fox. “That has not changed and it will not change. Under the current guidelines, masks may be removed indoors while eating and drinking.
“While we did not see perfect adoption of the guidelines in every instance over the weekend, we were encouraged overall by the level of masking and vigilance we saw on the parade route and at ball events,” Tidwell added.
Cantrell joins fellow Democratic mayors, including San Francisco Mayor London Breed and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, as officials who have flouted their own public health guidelines. Breed was captured on video singing during a boisterous evening at a local bar, while Garcetti took his mask off to pose with celebrities, which he later excused with a claim that he was holding his breath.
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