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Washington Parish Sheriff Randy Seal announced Wednesday that the parish has established a curfew in its battle against the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Effective this date, April 1, 2020, and continuing thereafter until further notice, a curfew is in effect for all of Washington Parish between the hours of 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. for all persons within the parish except for law enforcement and emergency personnel and those persons traveling to and from their place of employment or to and from any medical facility,” Seal said in a post on the Washington Parish Sheriff’s Office Facebook page. “The curfew extends to both pedestrian and vehicular traffic.”

Seal explained that state law permits sheriffs to establish curfews in times of a public emergency.

“In times of a public emergency, Louisiana Revised Statute 14:329.6 empowers the chief law enforcement officer of any parish to establish a curfew and prohibit and/or control pedestrian and vehicular traffic, except essential emergency vehicles and personnel as well as prohibit and control the presence of persons on public streets and places,” he said, in the order published on the WPSO Facebook page.

Seal also noted that Gov. John Bel Edwards declared the public health emergency on March 11, and that emergency declaration has been extended through the end of April.