NOLA.com - Latoya bans sitting at bars and limits indoor gatherings to 25

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Mayor LaToya Cantrell announced new restrictions aimed at tamping down on the increasing rate at which the coronavirus is spreading in the city.

The new restrictions amount to minor tweaks to the city's Phase 2 reopening plan, which was put in place on June 13.

Under the enhanced restrictions, bars and restaurants will be allowed to remain open but will required to serve customers at tables or through take-out rather than allowing them to sit at a bar. The restrictions also limit indoor gatherings to 25 people, a quarter of the number that were allowed previously.

Gatherings, according to the city's regulations, would be events held indoors. That includes weddings and funerals as well as other events.

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General religious services, however, are not bound by the rule, according to the city's website. Religious services remain limited to 50% of their buildings' occupancy or 250 people, whichever is fewer.

Retail shops, restaurants and bars would still be allowed to open at up to 50% of their normal capacity, according to guidelines posted on the city's website.

The new restrictions come amid a surge in cases across Louisiana, and a less dramatic increase in New Orleans, which was the center of the initial outbreak in March.

When New Orleans moved into Phase 2, officials released a set of metrics they would be tracking and which could prompt a return to more stringent regulations. Most of those metrics, including hospital capacity and testing volume, are still relatively healthy.

But the number of cases being reported each day in New Orleans has been on the increase. There were 635 cases reported over the last 14 days, double the number tallied in the 14 days before. The percent of tests coming back positive has also been on the rise, indicating the jump is not solely due to an expansion of testing.

The city's guidelines call for reintroducing restrictions if the city averages more than 50 cases per day over several days. The five-day average for new cases in the city has surpassed 50 on four of the last seven days.

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