NEW ORLEANS (AP) — New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell says the city’s bars will be closed throughout the Mardi Gras weekend to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Cantrell’s Friday announcement means New Orleans’ famous drinking establishments will have to be closed during what is ordinarily among their busiest times.
The city’s famous parades have already been cancelled.
Cantrell also announced planned restrictions on pedestrian and automobile traffic on Bourbon Street and other streets in the French Quarter that are usually bustling with shoulder-to-shoulder crowds during the Mardi Gras weekend.
The bar shutdown begins next Friday and runs through Mardi Gras — also known as Fat Tuesday — on Feb. 16.
