Louisiana Public Gathering Ban Includes Casinos
This week, Governor John Bel Edwards banned public gatherings of more than 250 people in response to the COVID-19, or Coronavirus, outbreak. The ban goes into effect on Monday (March 16, 2020).
There were a lot of questions around the ban as it was announced. Who's included, what counts as a public gathering, who's in charge of tracking, and more were asked almost instantly. Not just from event organizers and businesses owners, but the public as well.
No we've learned one of the industries that will be impacted is the casino industry.
Chairman of the Louisiana Gaming Control Board, Ronnie Jones, sent a letter to casinos telling them that they were covered by the 250 person ban. However they would not be held to that specific 250-person number. The email from Jones reads:
"The order does not specifically address gaming floor space but I think the spirit of the order requires that you and your staff monitor and control the number of patrons to prevent them from being in "close proximity" to one another. It may be necessary to limit entry, if in your judgement, an area becomes unsafe as a result of congestion. That is a determination that you should make in consultation with State Police who will assume a heightened presence to assist in monitoring the gaming floor. If this process and collaboration proves to be unsuccessful and congestion becomes an issue which has not been appropriately addressed, then I will call for more rigorous oversight."
Additionally the casinos were told that the Louisiana State Police would be helping them track their numbers on-site.
However it has been KTBS has reported that these limits do not impact the hotels or restaurants at casinos.
The ban will be in place until April 13th, 2020.