The city of New Orleans today announced it is making some modifications to its Phase 3 pandemic guidelines to allow more room at some events.
"Effective April 2, all indoor public and private gatherings shall be limited to 150 individuals and outdoor public and private gatherings shall be limited to 250 individuals," the city's statement reads. "Outdoor Recreation Spaces and Sports Complexes will be allowed to open at up to 50% of standing capacity. Indoor Recreation Spaces and Sports Complexes will be allowed to open at up to 25% of standing capacity."
Non-sporting events at these venues must get special permits.
This comes as Gov. John Bel Edwards lifted capacity limits for most businesses in Louisiana. New Orleans' modifications do not go that far.
Both the city and state still require masks in all public venues and businesses.
The city's statement concludes:
"The modifications come as the City continues to see improvements in several categories used to track the COVID-19 spread. As of today the case counts, transmission rate and positivity rate have all been in a decline for more than eight weeks. Average case counts are below 50 cases per day, the positivity rate is under 1%, and the transmission rate is well below 1.0. However, concerns remain, especially considering the reversal of trends in several states, as well as the spread of stronger variants that are being detected in several cities in Louisiana.
"No additional changes to the New Orleans guidelines are being made at this time."
