Governor John Bel Edwards extends Phase Two by two more weeks. The current order is set to expire on the morning of Friday, July 24 and the new order will take its place.
“That’ll be until Friday, August 7. We will continue to look deeply into the data to figure out where we go from here,” said Edwards.
Not everyone is a fan of the announcement. The Louisiana Association of Business and Industry expressed their disappointment in the decision, saying in a statement they are just as concerned with the lack of a clearly articulated and creative pathway to a safe, reopened society, school system, and economy.
Edwards says the next order will also see the extension of the restrictions added on July 13.
“That is going to include the changes that we made that became effective last Monday with respect to the mask mandate, the bar closures for the on-premises consumption of alcohol,” said Edwards.
Edwards cites the positivity rate of new tests as another red flag. As of July 15, all regions of Louisiana had a 7-day average positivity of new tests that was greater than 10 percent and the overall statewide positivity rate was 15.46 percent. The state’s goal is a rate to be below 10 percent.
Edwards says his biggest concern is the hospitalizations per capita as, over the last couple of weeks, it has been in an upward trajectory in all regions of the state.
“The ability to provide life-saving care is critically important and again, that’s true for COVID patients, but that’s also true for all patients, whether they have a stroke or a heart attack or motor vehicle accident,” said Edwards.
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