NEW ORLEANS — New Orleans moved back to modified Phase One coronavirus restrictions, limiting businesses to 25% of normal capacity and restricting gathering to only people in immediate households.
The new restrictions went into effect at 6 a.m. on Friday after New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell made the announcement earlier this week. The restrictions will last for at least three weeks during which city leaders will evaluate COVID-19 data to determine if it is safe to reopen businesses further.
"Last week, our positivity rate was 5.5%, we've gotten our numbers for this week and we're up to 10.4%," Cantrell said. "You can't make it up. It's real."
Louisiana shattered single-day records for new reported COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations on Wednesday. The state health department reported an additional 6,882 new cases and 46 new deaths linked to the virus since Tuesday. More people were hospitalized with COVID-19 at Louisiana hospitals on Tuesday than at any other point since the pandemic began.
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