NEW ORLEANS — Some bars in Louisiana will be allowed to reopen soon, but only if the parish meets the strict requirements.
Right now, five parishes are able to reopen their bars under Louisiana’s new Phase 3 guidelines: Bienville, Jefferson Davis, Plaquemines, St. John and Orleans.
The COVID-19 positivity rate in those parishes has been under 5% for two weeks straight, according to the Louisiana Department of Health. That information is released every two weeks. The next update (and the next chance for parishes to reopen their bars) is on Sept. 16.
The positivity rate is a benchmark used to determine how quickly COVID-19 is spreading in a community. It takes the number of people who tested positive for COVID-19 (including current coronavirus patients retesting), then divides it by the total number of people tested that day.
However, local leaders will have the final say on if those bars can reopen or not.
That makes it unlikely in New Orleans, where Mayor LaToya Cantrell has said that she plans to keep the city under Phase 2 restrictions as the rest of the state moves on.
For bars that can reopen for on-premise consumption, occupancy will be limited at 25% or 50 people (whichever is smaller) and all drinks must be ordered and served by table service, similar to how restaurants are operating now but at a smaller capacity.
Bars will also be required to stop serving alcohol at 10 p.m. and close by 11 p.m.
Gov. Edwards said earlier Friday that this is going to be the last major change in coronavirus restrictions for Louisiana.
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