At a press conference populated by a number of state health officials, Governor John Bel Edwards officially mandated the use of masks indoors.
The statewide mask mandate goes into effect on Wednesday, August 4 through September 1 but could be extended by the governor if needed.
The order comes on the heels of New Orleans issuing its own indoor mask mandate and after a weekend showing another number of spiraling COVID-19 cases driven mostly by the Delta Variant and affecting the unvaccinated.
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“We are the worst in the country in terms of this COVID surge, and that is because of the Delta Variant, which is a game-changer, and the fact quite frankly, not enough people had been vaccinated here in Louisiana, ” Governor Edwards said.
“So today, I am temporarily reinstating the Louisiana statewide mask mandate for people both vaccinated and unvaccinated when they are indoors and in public.”
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Today’s announcement was expected after the Governor said he’d take the weekend to digest CDC Data on the resurgence in numbers and the Delta Variant.
The weekend numbers produced 11,109 new cases, 27 deaths from COVID, and 19-84 hospitalized, up 240 from Friday. Again, 90% of cases are from people who have not yet been vaccinated.
The Governor, and the cadre of health officers who spoke, emphasized the need for vaccination.
Outside of more developed cities, much of the state is lagging far behind in vaccination numbers and seeing the majority of COVID cases mostly in the unvaccinated.