Beginning tonight, New Orleans bars can stay open until 1 a.m., the city announced in a press release.
Previously bars were allowed to operate until 11 p.m. as part of a state-wide restriction to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus. Gov. John Bel Edwards lifted that restriction on March 31, but New Orleans opted to keep the 11 p.m. closure time in place until now.
The city moved to Modified Phase 3 guidelines on March 12, allowing restaurants and other retail businesses to open at 75 percent indoor capacity and extending gathering size caps to 150 people indoors and 250 people outdoors. But bars were to remain at 25 percent capacity indoors.
The move to extend bars’ operating hours is part of the Modified Phase 3 order.
