SLIDELL, La. — New restrictions designed to slow the spread of COVID-19 across the state began at midnight.
Everyone over the age of eight will be required to wear a mask while inside a business, indoor social gatherings will be limited and bars without food licenses will only be able to serve drinks to-go.
Patrons sipped beer along the bar at The Brass Monkey in Slidell Sunday afternoon, hours before it would shut down along with other bars across the state.
"We're going to be completely shut down once midnight comes tonight and we're obviously upset because we don't agree with being shut down completely," owner Patrick Heim said.
Heim is preparing to close for the second time after Governor John Bel Edwards' Saturday announcement that bars would have to close or offer to go service only.
"After living through it for three months now we know what we have to do tomorrow, like get our stuff put away, refrigerate what needs to be refrigerated," Heim said, preparing to shut down.
Monday, changes are coming across the street at Olde Towne Pizza Co. too, which as part of the statewide mask mandate, will require masks for all customers.
"We are because I can't close down or else my kid will not have food on their tables. It doesn't mean I'm okay with it," said owner Gilbert Valencia who expressed frustration against the mask mandate.
The mask mandate applies outdoors too if anyone is within six feet of someone they don't live with.
"Now I'm the mask police, which I think is unconstitutional and unfair," Valencia said.
Businesses that don't comply can be fined up to $500. If patrons refuse to wear a mask or leave, they can be cited for trespassing.
Social gatherings will now be limited to 50 people. In New Orleans, they are limited to 25.
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