Crowds were warned to stay away from New Orleans in the days leading up to Mardi Gras to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Police chief Shaun Ferguson gave a press conference on Friday with the state police and the New Orleans sheriff to emphasize the danger of large crowds, saying that a bar closure order that went into effect on Friday would be enforced. until “fat Tuesday”, the end of the pre-Lent parties period.
All parades in the city have also been canceled.
Last year’s Mardi Gras celebrations, which typically receive thousands of tourists in the city, are believed to have contributed to the outbreak of infections in Louisiana.
The city said Bourbon Street would be closed to cars and pedestrians from 7 pm to 3 am every day, with limited access for residents, business staff, hotel guests and restaurant customers. At Mardi Gras itself, the closing will begin at 7 am, said Ferguson.
The restaurant’s capacity will be limited, as has been happening during the pandemic. And bars, including those with temporary food permits that allow them to operate as restaurants, will be closed – not just in the French Quarter, but throughout the city – until Ash Wednesday.
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Other popular entertainment areas, including Decatur Street in the French Quarter and Frenchmen Street in the neighboring neighborhood of Marigny, should be closed during what is normally peak hours.
A popular corridor outside the French Quarter that is a meeting place for locals was being placed off-limits with a fence.
Ferguson said the police will be looking across the city for violators of the bar closures.
“If you think you’re going to be that bad actor and get away with it, I ask you to think otherwise,” said Ferguson.