Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards says he will consider new White House guidelines that may mean tighter COVID-19 restrictions in Louisiana. The recommendations call for "red zone" states like Louisiana to close gyms, put tighter restrictions on indoor dining capacity to 25 percent, and limit gatherings to ten people.
"Everything that we’ve done thus far has been consistent with guidelines we’ve gotten from the CDC and White House Coronavirus Task Force, whether it was the gating criteria, the mitigation measures that we’ve put in place at different points in time," said Edwards.
Louisiana is one of 18 states in the "red zone" for cases, and one of eleven for testing positivity. Edwards feels the state already is covering the most-prioritized spread mitigation efforts from the CDC and White House Coronavirus Task Force.
"The things that were emphasized Monday by Dr. Birx and the vice president dealt with masks, limitation on crowd size, and closing bars, but we will certainly take a look at these other things too," Edwards said.
Edwards has closely followed the White House guidance, despite push back from some Republicans at the state level over restrictions. Edwards says any mandates will come on the next proclamation.
"We are mindful that we have a current proclaimation that is set to expire on July 26, and there will be a new proclaimation issued in order to take its spot. I cannot commit today what will be in that one that comes on the 26th," said Edwards.