State health officials advise Louisiana to return to universal indoor masking, regardless of vaccination status, in an effort to curb the coming Omicron variant wave. This comes as the new variant is beginning to take off in Louisiana, and all signs point to us being at the start of the fifth wave of the pandemic.
State Epidemiologist Theresa Sokol was asked whether the Louisiana Department of Health advised Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards to reinstate the statewide mask mandate. She didn’t outright call for a mandate, but seemingly came all but shy of saying so, describing what they have discussed.
“The importance of really making a public health recommendation to all individuals in Louisiana over the age of two regardless of vaccination status that now is the time to start masking, universally, in indoor public spaces,” said Sokol. “That’s the way we are going to really curb transmission.”
Dr. Catherine O’Neil with LSU and Our Lady of the Lake said she’s seeing the clear signs of a 5th surge headed our way. Even before Monday’s numbers dropped showing a big jump in cases she had patients canceling appointments and staff calling out sick due to COVID.
“We’ve been through it so many times that the telltale signs are all there,” said O’Neal. “We know that Omicron is more transmissible, and we have had a hard time keeping our surges down in the past with a strain that was less transmissible than this.”