On Friday, Feb. 5, 2021, Mayor LaToya Cantrell announced that, starting Feb. 12th at 6 a.m. until Feb. 17th at 6 a.m., the New Orleans area will be under strict restrictions to prevent the spread of COVID-19. With this announcement, TUPD will enforce these COVID-19 restrictions throughout the New Orleans and Tulane University area. 

Chief Kirk Bouyelas of TUPD told The Hullabaloo what to expect in the upcoming week.

“We have not altered our deployment numbers,” Bouyelas said. “The same number of officers we deploy during a normal Mardi Gras will be utilized this year too, so that we can focus on the safety of our community. The unknown factor is where will students be gathering. Traditionally, this occurs along Broadway and Maple streets.  This year we are going to remain flexible and deploy our officers into areas where we are observing activity and believe we can provide the most service. As such, we are modifying patrol strategies to focus more on areas where we believe groups of students may be gathering.” 

There will be noticeable differences that TUPD will need to deal with for the upcoming Mardi Gras due to the presence of COVID-19.

According to Bouyelas, TUPD typically focuses on major streets used by partying students, like Broadway Street and Maple Street. With business closed in these areas, officers will focus on the “residential perimeter” and any areas where increased activity is observed. Bouyelas stressed again that the number of officers on patrol will not be greater than previous years.

When asked if he had any advice for Tulane students, Bouyelas said that “TUPD would like to remind students that the University has published expectations of behavior during this time and we encourage everyone to do their part and look out for the safety of themselves and their fellow students. Whether on or off campus we hope that everyone has a safe season and is able to celebrate as appropriate with the resources provided by the University. We realize this is a unique time and together as a community we can get past this and return to a normal Carnival season.”