He sounded like a grandfather, but he had no grandkids. His voice, gruff and hardened from years living on and off the street, softened as they got to know each other. Him, a divorced, homeless father we’ll call John, with throbbing leg pains, calling from a motel room near the airport in Lafayette. Her, Donia H., a young woman of Iranian descent, calling from her parents’ house outside Atlanta. His leg pain sounded like complications from diabetes. And diabetes killed her uncle.

As the country battles a third wave of COVID-19 cases, Louisiana has managed to keep its number of new infections relatively low. But with cases on the rise in neighboring Texas and Mississippi and in the northwestern corner of the state, Assistant Secretary of Public Health Dr. Joseph Kanter is worried that there could be another spike.

Zeta has reached hurricane strength and is nearing the Yucatan Peninsula on Monday evening — and Southeast Louisiana is under a hurricane watch.

Tulane University announced Friday that students will be allowed to return for in-person classes this spring, but will still be subject to regular COVID-19 testing in a continued effort to control the spread of the virus.

A spokesperson for the city of New Orleans expressed concern over weekend social media posts and news reports of a packed Bourbon Street.