nola.com – New Orleans will require proof of a COVID-19 vaccination or a recent negative coronavirus test for indoor patrons of restaurants, bars and other venues, including the Caesars Superdome, Mayor LaToya Cantrell announced on Thursday.
The new measures are effective on Aug. 16, with enforcement to begin the following week, Cantrell said.
“We are trying to get beyond this virus,” Cantrell said. “I do not want to bring this virus into yet another year.”
The measures are aimed at stemming a ferocious COVID-19 outbreak driven by the highly-transmissible delta variant. In recent weeks, hospitals in New Orleans and across the state have been overwhelmed by patients, nearly all unvaccinated, seeking treatment. Cases have skyrocketed, as have the number of people who have died recently from the virus.
Cantrell reinstated a citywide mask mandate on July 30, along with a requirement that city workers and contractors show proof of vaccination as a condition of employment.
While New Orleans is one of the first U.S. cities to impose a vaccine mandate, many restaurants and music venues in the city have already taken the step.
The New Orleans vaccine mandate follows others announced in New York City and San Francisco, which differ in at least one key respect: New York City will require proof of one shot while San Francisco will require full vaccination. It was not immediately clear if New Orleans will require one dose or full vaccinations.
The Los Angeles City Council this week directed city attorneys to draft a vaccine mandate law, though details are still being worked out.
The outbreak currently sweeping Louisiana has already forced cancellation of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, which had been postponed to October from its usual spring dates.
Louisiana set COVID-19 hospitalization records for 10 straight days as of Wednesday, when there were 2,901 inpatients across the state. The New Orleans-area COVID-19 inpatient census was 592, the highest since April 2020 but still well below the spring 2020 peak.
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