{"id":27755,"date":"2020-07-15T17:57:00","date_gmt":"2020-07-15T14:57:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/new-orleans-bars-forced-to-shut-down-again-after-coronavirus-spike\/"},"modified":"2020-07-15T17:57:00","modified_gmt":"2020-07-15T14:57:00","slug":"new-orleans-bars-forced-to-shut-down-again-after-coronavirus-spike","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/new-orleans-bars-forced-to-shut-down-again-after-coronavirus-spike\/","title":{"rendered":"#New Orleans bars forced to shut down again after coronavirus spike"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#New Orleans bars forced to shut down again after coronavirus spike<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

\n NEW ORLEANS \u2014 It\u2019s a fresh taste of bitter medicine for New Orleans: A sharp increase in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations is forcing bars in the good-time-loving, tourist-dependent city to shut down again just a month after they were allowed to partially reopen.<\/p>\n

Louisiana had been an international hot spot for the new coronavirus in March and New Orleans was its focal point. But hospitalizations began dropping after an April peak and it app<\/a>eared that the closure of a wide array of businesses, including dine-in restaurants, gyms, tattoo parlors and bars, had flattened the curve.<\/p>\n

A gradual easing of restrictions began in May, culminating with Mayor LaToya Cantrell\u2019s decision to let New Orleans bars reopen, albeit at only 25 percent capacity, on June 13.<\/p>\n

Last call came a lot sooner than anyone wanted.<\/p>\n

On Saturday, in a move supported by Cantrell, Gov. John Bel Edwards issued new restrictions. Edwards\u2019 order doesn\u2019t close bars completely. But it restricts them to takeout service or delivery. Bar operators contacted Monday were treating it as a shutdown order, however.<\/p>\n

Mark Schettler, bartender and general<\/a> manager of Bar Tonique, a \u201ccraft cocktail dive\u201d on Rampart Street at the edge of the French Quarter, said the new restrictions, coupled with state law, appear to limit his sales to packaged liquor and beer and frozen daiquiris. \u201cA bar like mine, that doesn\u2019t help us,\u201d he said. \u201cWho the hell\u2019s going to come buy a six-pack of beer from Tonique?\u201d<\/p>\n

It would make little sense to offer only takeout and delivery from Bruno\u2019s Tavern, a neighborhood bar and grill in New Orleans\u2019 Carrollton area that has been operating since the 1930s, said general manager Will Wilson.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe could stay open but we\u2019d be bleeding money,\u201d Wilson said.<\/p>\n

Lafitte\u2019s Blacksmith Shop, a bar in an 18th-century building on Bourbon Street, also is closing.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnytime they changed a compliance rule, we were right there changing with it,\u201d said Cherie Boos, the bar\u2019s manager. \u201cThis one, it\u2019s a blow.\u201d<\/p>\n

State officials said they saw no other way.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince the start of the crisis, Louisiana has identified at least 36 outbreaks, affecting at least 405 people, involving bars,\u201d Edwards\u2019 office said in a Saturday news<\/a> release. \u201cPublic health officials believe going to bars is a higher public health risk than visiting other types of businesses because people are social<\/a>izing and cannot wear masks when they drink.\u201d<\/p>\n

COVID-19 hospitalizations in the New Orleans region had fallen from more than 1,000 in April to fewer than 70 by June 20, said Dr. Joseph Kanter, director of the state health department region that includes the metropolitan area. Statewide, hospitalizations that peaked around 2,000 in early April had fallen well below 600 by early June.<\/p>\n

When restrictions on business were eased, it wasn\u2019t just the number of cases that increased \u2014 something to be expected as the state ramped up testing. The percentage of positive tests statewide went from around 7 percent in early June to as high as 18 percent at one point last week. During that same time period, the positivity rate in New Orleans rose from under 5 percent to more than 10 percent.<\/p>\n

Hospitalizations in New Orleans were back up to 120 last week and rising. Statewide hospitalizations were at 1,300 and trending sharply upward, according to figures the state health department released Monday.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have lost all the gains made in June and are seeing some numbers that rival our peak back in April,\u201d Edwards said at a recent news conference.<\/p>\n

No sector of the state\u2019s economy has been untouched by the coronavirus-related restrictions, but it\u2019s been keenly felt in New Orleans. The city\u2019s tourism and hospitality industry employed 94,000 people \u2014 until April, when nearly half those jobs went away, according to figures posted by the independent Data Center of New Orleans on its website.<\/p>\n

Schettler likens the economic devastation to the woes the city suffered after levee breaches led to devastating floods during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. In some ways, he said, dealing with the virus makes recovery more complex.<\/p>\n

After the storm, he said, the water eventually receded and a recovery plan could begin.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe flood waters don\u2019t recede with COVID,\u201d he remarked.<\/p>\n

The new restrictions also dash any hope of live music venues returning soon. The Maple Leaf Bar is padlocked and the doors at Tipitina\u2019s are closed.<\/p>\n

Singer John Boutte\u2019s usual gig at the DBA bar is gone for now \u2014 as are the performances he had planned in Denmark, Switzerland and Scotland. And indoor gatherings are now limited to 25 people in New Orleans under restrictions adopted last week, squelching any hope for paid private events.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrench Quarter Fest. Jazz Fest. The private parties. That fell apart,\u201d said Boutte, listing events big and small that have been lost to the virus.<\/p>\n

And there\u2019s no telling when the gigs will return.<\/p>\n

\u201cHistorically, pandemics last three years, four years,\u201d Boutte mused. \u201cAnd then people just get back and forget about it for another hundred years.\u201d\n <\/p><\/div>\n

\n

If you want to read more Living News articles, you can visit our General category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“#New Orleans bars forced to shut down again after coronavirus spike” NEW ORLEANS \u2014 It\u2019s a fresh taste of bitter medicine for New Orleans: A sharp increase in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations is forcing bars in the good-time-loving, tourist-dependent city to shut down again just a month after they were allowed to partially reopen. Louisiana…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":27756,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[39038],"class_list":["post-27755","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-new-orleans-bars-forced-to-shut-down-again-after-coronavirus-spike"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27755","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27755"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27755\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27756"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27755"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27755"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27755"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}