NEW ORLEANS - The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival has been canceled for the second year in a row due to rising COVID-19 cases and record hospitalizations in the state, organizers said.Louisiana is facing the worst virus surge since the pandemic began with about 1% of the state’s entire population becoming infected with COVID-19 over the past two weeks, according to officials.
The Louisiana Department of Health reported 2,421 people were in hospitals around the state with COVID-19, more than eight times the number hospitalized at the start of July.Festival organizers said in a statement on Sunday that the event, originally scheduled for Oct.