Governor John Bel Edwards said the state is ready to move into the next phase of reopening. Edwards said at a Thursday morning press conference that after analyzing COVID-19 data for the last two weeks, the state is ready to move forward.
“What I am prepared to say today is that the data is positive enough that we will be going into Phase 3,” said Edwards.
Edwards admitted it was a difficult decision because not all of the data has come in on whether school resuming, the Labor Day holiday weekend, and how recovery from Hurricane Laura is impacting the spread of the coronavirus.
Edwards said just because we’re moving into Phase Three doesn’t mean we’ve moved out of the public health emergency.
“My concern is that when you say that you are going into the next phase of reopening people assume that everything is ok, well it is not ok. We are still number one in the country in cases per capita,” said Edwards.
Moving from Phase 2 to Phase 3 means there will be fewer restrictions on the number of people that can gather and occupancy at businesses, but Edwards said the mask mandate will stay in effect in Phase 3.
“If we want to be successful in increasing occupancy levels at business and churches and those sorts of things, we can do that safely, but you still have to wear a mask,” said Edwards.
Further details about what Phase Three will look like, such as the status of bars, will be provided during a Friday afternoon news conference.
Comments