A state judge has, at the request of the Louisiana Department of Health, temporarily shut down a barbecue on Friday for denying laws for mask mandates.
State District Judge Brenda Bedsole Ricks on Friday issued a restraining order banning the Firehouse BBQ in Livingston Parish, La., After she refused to require workers and patrons to abide by the laws on masks across the country.
The company will be closed until at least August 18 pending a hearing.
Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards called the restaurant’s refusal to follow state health procedures “extremely reckless and irresponsible.”
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The Firehouse BBQ rejected the governor’s statewide mask order, calling it “an illegal mandate” and reportedly continued to operate after the state withdrew its food permit. The company also posted on its Facebook page that customers and employees “were given the option to wear a mask or not.”
“It was my hope that the action would not be necessary today, but we have no other choice because the owner insists that they will not be complied with, thus endangering the safety of employees and customers, “Edwards wrote on Twitter on Friday.
Louisiana has reported over 128,000 confirmed cases and more than 4,000 deaths.
The state has seen recent spikes in the number of coronavirus cases that Edwards urged this week to announce that the state will remain in phase two of the reopening of the economy.
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All bars will remain closed for on-site consumption and mask mandate orders are still in place for at least the next 21 days.
“The decisions I made were not easy, but they are based on science, the data and recommendations of the White House Task Force,” Edwards said on Twitter Friday.
Health officials have reported concerns about the positivity rate of the state’s infection, which is around 14 percent. Edwards told a news conference earlier this week that the positivity rate should be closer to ten percent to advance to the next phase.
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LaToya Cantrell, mayor of New Orleans, issued a statement in support of the ongoing restrictions.
‘I thank Gov. Edwards for his leadership. “None of this is easy, and no one wants to go backwards – but public health and public safety should remain our top priority,” Cantrell said this week.
“Without a healthy population, there can be no economic recovery. We are all together here. “
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
