Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards today announced he is extending the mask mandate that began in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic's Delta variant surge. The extension runs through October 27.
The governor issued the most recent mask mandate early in August, as daily new cases and hospitalizations surged, and he extended it on September 1 in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida.
While hospitalizations have declined steadily since peaking at 3,022 on August 17, Edwards said there is still too much stress on the healthcare system.
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"It's four times higher than the baseline hospitalizations we had going into the fourth surge," said Edwards.
Incidence of coronavirus in Louisiana remains high, with every parish at high levels of community risk.
"There's still a ton of COVID in Louisiana," said state health officer Dr. Joe Kanter. "We're nowhere close to being out of the woods yet."