Ahead of Tropical Storm Ida's arrival to southeast Louisiana as a strong Category 3 Hurricane either Sunday or Monday, residents were preparing for what's to come and officials were closing public spaces.
The ban on neutral ground parking in New Orleans was also lifted beginning noon Saturday. In order to avoid floods, residents can park their car on the neutral ground, but they cannot block intersections, streetcar tracks, sidewalks or bike lanes.
Closures so far include schools, some government or public buildings and COVID-19 testing sites. Here's all closures so far:
New Orleans Public Schools will close all schools and its central office on Monday, Aug. 30. School based COVID-19 testing and vaccination events are canceled and the district’s regularly scheduled coronavirus data update will be delayed to Tuesday.
The Archdiocese of New Orleans will also be closed to both in-person and virtual learning on Monday.
All of the city’s colleges and universities have canceled classes due to Ida, with some electing to suspend in-person instructions as early as this afternoon through Monday. Some schools moved classes online Friday and plan to do the same when instruction resumes Tuesday.
- The University of Holy Cross
- LSU
- Loyola University of New Orleans
- University of New Orleans
- Southern University of New Orleans
- Delgado Community College
- Nunez Community College
- Xavier University of Louisiana
- Dillard University
- Tulane University
Public schools will be closed Monday in at least nine other parishes, with more closures expected. Parishes include Jefferson, St. Tammany Parish, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, Terrebonne, Lafourche, St. John The Baptist, St. Charles, East Baton Rouge, West Feliciana, Livingston and Washington.
District leaders said whether classes resume on Tuesday, Aug. 31 will depend on recovery needs, including building damage, power outages and the ability of students and teachers to safely travel to school.
It’s unclear whether districts have the ability to pivot to online learning should buildings remain closed past Monday.
Jefferson Parish: Testing and vaccination sites at the Alario Center, Delta playground, Bright playground and Bonnabel boat launch will close at noon Friday. Officials will announce when they reopen.
All testing and vaccine sites operated by the Office of Public Health and the Louisiana Army National Guard across the state will close by end of day Friday.
State parks and historic sites will be closed from 5 p.m. on Friday until 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 31.
State Parks Closing:
- Bayou Segnette State Park; Westwego
- Bogue Chitto State Park; Franklinton
- Chicot State Park; Ville Platte
- Cypremort Point State Park; Cypremort Point
- Fairview-Riverside State Park; Madisonville
- Fontainebleau State Park; Mandeville
- Grand Isle State Park; Grand Isle
- Lake Fausse Point State Park; St. Martinville
- Palmetto Island State Park; Abbeville
- St. Bernard State Park; Braithwaite
- Tickfaw State Park; Springfield
State Historic Sites Closing:
- Audubon State Historic Site; St. Francisville
- Centenary State Historic Site; Jackson
- Locust Grove State Historic Site; St. Francisville
- Longfellow-Evangeline State Historic Site; St. Martinville
- Port Hudson State Historic Site; Jackson
- Rosedown State Historic Site; St. Francisville
Some government offices will be closed through Monday, including:
- City of Gretna
- Some state offices in south Louisiana
- St. John the Baptist Parish
- Jefferson Parish
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