New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell is closing all bars for Mardi Gras.
All establishments will be closed for indoor and outdoor dining citywide starting next Friday (2/12) through Mardi Gras day (2/16). In addition, liquor stores and liquor sales in the quarter are completely banned.
New Orleans police officers are set to patrol every intersection along Bourbon Street and Frenchmen Street to discourage gatherings. The mayor pointed to recent crowd events in the French Quarter with hundreds of people as one of the reasons for tightening restrictions.
Mayor Cantrell said she is concerned about the event being a possible super spreader for the coronavirus, and says she'd "rather be accused of doing too much than not enough."
Meanwhile, Mobile is closing streets downtown for Fat Tuesday celebrations, after cancelling parades to keep large crowds from gathering. City officials say they know Mardi Gras is an important holiday and some people may want to come downtown, so they're closing streets to allow "more space for social distancing in open, outdoor spaces."
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