New Orleans closes bars, bans to-go drinks ahead of Mardi Gras weekend

The city of New Orleans is getting stricter with its safety protocols for bars and restaurants amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This is being done to control the crowd during the Mardi Gras weekend.

The city announced on Friday that it will be banning all indoor and outdoor bars and banning to-go drinks from February 12 for the Mardi Gras day on February 16. The order also states that package liquor sales in the French Quarter will be stopped and all bars that operate as restaurants will be closed.

We’re doing this in response to the health crisis that we are in. There are consequences of not taking action, the costs are simply too high,” New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell said in a statement

She added, “There are three new COVID strains out there which will have an impact on our city. We have to mitigate this virus the best way we can. It requires all of us doing the right thing,”

This will be for the first time in 40 years that the streets of New Orleans will not be hosting Mardi Gras parades till Fat Tuesday.