Louisiana governor relaxing virus-related restrictions
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Saying Louisiana has made significant strides in combating the COVID-19 outbreak, Gov. John Bel Edwards announced Monday that he will begin loosening restrictions this weekend on churches, restaurants, salons and gyms, moving the state away from a “stay-at-home” position he enacted in late March.
The new regulations take effect Friday, largely in line with the first phase of reopening as envisioned under the White House guidelines provided to states. Businesses newly allowed to open will be limited to one-quarter of their previous capacity, and employees working around customers will have to wear masks.
Restaurants will be able to reopen inside seating and table service, but at the 25% capacity level. Tattoo parlors, spas, amusement parks and children's museums will remain closed.
Edwards said the latest restrictions will last until June 5.
The Democratic governor said he decided to lessen the constraints he enacted in late March because Louisiana, one of the nation’s early hot spots for the coronavirus, is seeing consistent declines in new virus cases and hospitalization rates for COVID-19 disease patients.
“The people of Louisiana have worked really hard since this public health emergency was first announced in order to slow the spread of COVID-19,” Edwards said.
Fears of overwhelming hospital capacity and running out of ventilators for the most fragile patients have subsided. And Edwards said the state is taking the needed steps to increase testing and the number of people who can track both those who have tested positive for the virus and the people they’ve been in contact with. Those people could then be isolated to slow the rate of infections.
Edwards’ current stay-at-home order is credited with lessening the scale of the...