Indoor mask mandate ordered across Louisiana

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards has implemented a statewide indoor mask mandate to combat the spread of COVID-19 and the delta variant of the virus.

Gov. Edwards made the declaration during a news conference Monday, Aug. 2.

The new mask mandate is set to expire on Sept. 1, 2021, but could be extended if needed, the governor said.

While the order technically takes effect Wednesday, Aug. 4, the governor urged all Louisiana residents to start wearing masks indoors immediately.

The indoor mask mandate applies to anyone age five or older in all public places in the state, including K-12 schools, regardless of whether people have the COVID-19 vaccine or not. The governor made the announcement surrounded by health care leaders from several different parts of the state.

“This is obviously not something I wanted to do,” Edwards said. “But Louisiana is not in the place where we want it to be or need it to be.”

His declaration comes on the heels of 11,109 new COVID-19 cases reported over the weekend in Louisiana. The Louisiana Department of Health also reported 27 new COVID-19 deaths over the weekend. The agency says 90 percent of all COVID-19 cases documented in the state between July 15 and July 21, 2021 were among those who were not vaccinated or not yet fully vaccinated.

There are currently 1,984 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in Louisiana, including 213 on ventilators, the state reported Monday, August 2.

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