Mardi Gras rolling on Mississippi coast despite virus surge

BILOXI, Miss. (AP) — Plans are moving ahead to hold Mardi Gras parties and parades on the Mississippi coast despite a surge in COVID-19 cases linked to the highly contagious omicron variant.

Health officials say large gatherings are the surest way to transmit the illness and Mississippi has the nation’s highest death rate from COVID-19.

But the executive director of the Gulf Coast Carnival Association, Jennifer Schmidt, tells the Sun-Herald everything is moving forward with caution and daily monitoring, at least for now.

A spokesperson says Biloxi Mayor Andrew Gilich is monitoring COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations but the city hasn’t canceled or postponed any Mardi Gras events.