A city known for its live music, the COVID-19 outbreak has hit New Orleans hard. The city declared its first presumptive infection on March 9 and has since seen almost more than 6,000 reported cases with more than 300 reported deaths, at the time of writing.
The outbreak led authorities to cancel many of the city's famous festivals, including the annual New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival that was set to take place between April 23 and May 3. In an April 17 statement from organizers, the heartbreak was real: "It takes something truly momentous to interrupt a 50-year New Orleans tradition as special as the Festival."
Traditional jazz trombonist Haruka Kikuchi, 33, was set to play the event, alongside more than 600 other acts. However, her last live performance was at a small bar named Buffa's on March 15.