Gov. John Bel Edwards announced Tuesday that the state will move into Phase 3 of reopening.
Edwards shared some of the new guidelines:
- Majority of businesses, including restaurants and salons, can accommodate 75 percent capacity
- Indoor events can reach 50 percent capacity with a limit of 250 people
- Outdoor events can reach 50 percent capacity with no limit on number of attendees
- Religious services will not have capacity limits any more
- Gyms and fitness centers will remain at 50 percent
- Bars in all parishes will be able to serve indoors at 25 percent capacity
- Parishes with percent positivity rates below 5 percent can allow bars to serve indoors at 50 percent
- Live music can be played indoors with approval of the fire marshal
Phase 3 begins on Wednesday, March 3.
“We’ve made enough progress today that this is something that we can do safely with mitigation measures,” Edwards said, adding that the decision to move to Phase 3 reflects how the state is doing.
Like much of the country, Louisiana’s COVID-19 test percent positivity rate has been going down.
The governor said that’s happened because “people [made] a real concerted effort to make sure they [followed] mitigation measures.”
A press release on Tuesday announced that New Orleans will "continue with [the] current COVID-19 guidelines and restrictions" in the city. New Orleans made changes to its modified Phase 2 restrictions last week.
"It is important to monitor the effects those changes may have on transmission," the press release read. "Additionally the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recently recommended against significantly rolling back restrictions to curb the spread in light of the more contagious variants."
