Gov. John Bel Edwards held a news conference Friday, July 30, to address the spread of the delta variant in Louisiana.
At this time, Edwards is not reinstating a statewide mask mandate at this time, but is “strongly considering” reinstating it.
The governor says he and state health officials are currently reviewing data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) about the mask mandate.
“The delta variant is a game changer, and at this point, it’s not whether we vaccinate or mask, we have to do both,” said Edwards.
He is also strongly encouraging everyone to get vaccinated and wear masks indoors regardless of vaccination status.
On Friday, 1,740 patients were hospitalized statewide with COVID-19; a number the state has not seen since the beginning of the end of its third surge on the virus on Jan. 26 when 1,625 patients were hospitalized. The number of people hospitalized continues to rise.
