FRANKFORT, Ky. — Gov. Andy Beshear has relaxed the curfew on bars and restaurants as the state’s rate of positive COVID-19 cases reached its lowest level since early July.

Starting Friday, the curfew is being extended by one hour, Beshear said.

Bars and restaurants can serve food and drinks until midnight local time and stay open until 1 a.m., the governor said Thursday. The move comes just as the NCAA's March Madness basketball tournament begins.

“Hopefully this is a little bit of relief given the positive movement of where we are right now as a state with vaccines going up and cases going down,” Beshear said.

Hilligan's Sports Bar in Bowling Green is welcoming the change, said General Manager Ashley Bland

"It’s really a nice adjustment that we have an extra hour moving forward for now,” Bland said.

The move also restores a sense of normalcy for restaurants and bars.

“It was kind of stressful not knowing day to day at some points what our capacity is going to be, what our hours are going to be," Bland said. "So it’s nice just being on a level of just knowing for a good while how we are going to run.”

This marks the second move as restaurants and bars were recently allowed to increase capacity from 50% to 60% on March 5.

Capacity limits at bars and restaurants will remain at 60% and the spaced-out seating rule still applies, the governor said.

“We cannot have people crowding around bars or in restaurants around bars,” he said. “We do have to keep people separated.”

Kentucky’s rate of positive cases fell to 3.23% Thursday, the lowest level since July 3. On Friday, the rate was up slightly to 3.4% with 731 new cases and 25 new deaths.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.