BATON ROUGE- Several bars in Tigerland closed after over 100 COVID-19 cases were reported among staff and patrons this past weekend, according to the Department of Health. Since this announcement on Friday, more and more businesses are following suit.
At least three bars near the LSU campus have employees who have tested positive for the coronavirus, owners of the establishments confirmed Friday. The Tigerland-area bars include JL’s Place, Reggie’s, and Fred’s.
Uncle Earl’s has also decided to temporarily close and take extra precautions after hearing the news.
The bar says they will have staff members tested and the building professionally cleaned during this time.
Uncle Earl’s Bar posted to social media Friday evening to announce the closure.
“Over the last 24 hours, we were notified that staff and patrons of local establishments have tested positive for COVID-19. In our continued efforts of ensuring the safety of our staff and customers, we hired a Health Care firm to conduct COVID-19 testing for our entire staff this morning.”
The business hired a maintenance firm to professionally disinfect the facility, according to the statement.
Uncle Earl’s will be closed this weekend as they await test results.
The Chimes near LSU’s north gate will also close temporarily, the business announced Friday.
“The Chimes at the north gates of LSU is temporarily closed as a precautionary measure related to the recent influx of COVID-19 cases in the LSU area,” the restaurant posted on social media.
They are planning to reopen as soon as possible.
“We need everybody to be vigilant about their surroundings,” Dr. Alex Billioux said.
Bars are allowed to reopen in Louisiana under the current phase of business operations. Next week, the state will update whether Louisiana can move into the so-called phase 3.
